Marguerite Afra Sapiie, Jakarta – Rights watchdog Imparsial has urged the House of Representatives to pass specific regulations on the Indonesian Military's role in counterterrorism operations, but exclude such provisions from a permanent Terrorism Law.
"If we combine matters pertaining to law enforcement and war model systems into one [terrorism] law, there will be a problem. The military should have their roles covered in a separate law," Imparsial director Al-Araf said on Monday.
Regarding the drafting of the specific regulations, he said, the details of the military's rules of engagement in non-military operations should based on the mandate of Tap MPR No. VII/2000 on the roles of the military and National Police. These include the military's role in antiterrorism operations, which was already covered by Article 7 of Law No. 34/2004 on the military, he added.
Al-Araf said the military's ability to be involved in counterterrorism operations had been made clear by Operation Tinombala, in which military personnel were deployed to assist the police in hunting East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) guerillas based on the authority given by the prevailing law. Therefore, he said, there was no need for the government to include the military's role in counterterrorism initiatives in the terrorism bill.
The House of Representatives' special committee on the deliberation of the draft revision of the 2003 Terrorism Law is mulling a proposal to insert articles on the military's role in counterterrorism measures. Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan has said the government hopes the deliberation will be finished by August. (ebf)