'Review Aceh's authority' to enact bylaw

Erwida Maulia and Hotli Simanjuntak ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta, Banda Aceh   |  Wed, 09/16/2009 2:20 PM  |  Headlines

The national rights body for women is calling for a judicial review of Aceh's Administrative Law, after the province's outgoing lawmakers passed a bylaw introducing stoning as the punishment for adultery.

The National Commission on Violence against Women demanded on Tuesday a review of the 2006 law on Aceh's administration, which gives local legislative bodies an exclusive right to implement sharia-based ordinances in the country's most northwestern province.

Kamala Chandrakirana, the commission's chairwoman, also urged President Susilo Bambang Yudho-yono to take "political action" to review "discriminative" bylaws in several regions across the country, as well as other policies she said were against the Constitution.

Aceh's legislative council passed on Monday the jinayat (Islamic criminal code) bylaw despite opposition from local rights groups and the Aceh administration.

Under the new ordinance, married Muslims and non-Muslims involved in adultery could be stoned 100 times or even to death, while unmarried adulterers may be caned up to 100 times.

Kamala said she regretted that Jakarta had let the Aceh legislative council endorse the bylaw, saying it should have rejected it when the council consulted the Home Ministry and the Supreme Court, a mandatory procedure for regions about to endorse an ordinance.

Meanwhile, Mahfud MD, chief of the Constitutional Court, visited Banda Aceh on Tuesday.

During his visits to a number of universities, Mahfud told reporters that while the Constitutional Court had no authority so far to rule on the bylaw itself, prosecutors could run into difficulties when enforcing the bylaw as the national criminal code also regulated extra-marital relations.

Aceh's new bylaw, which will come into effect in one month, also criminalizes homosexuality, pedophilia, rape and public displays of affection by unmarried couples.

Initially proposed by the administration, the new bylaw is how-ever not supported by Irwandy Yusuf's government, whose supporters are a minority in the previous council.

When the current council finishes its term on Sept. 30, most of the new lawmakers will belong to the Aceh Party, which supports Irwandy.

Ninik Rahayu, the commission's deputy chairwoman, said in a press conference on the issue that the special status granted to Aceh, including on limited introduction of sharia law, should not give the region free rein to enforce whatever regulation the provincial government came up with.

This was especially the case if the new regulation might be considered to be in breach of the national Constitution, which guarantees human rights.

"Aceh remains a part of Indonesia, so its local regulations should not contradict higher laws.

"We urge all stakeholders ... who are affected with this 2006 law, to file a judicial review with the Constitutional Court," Ninik said.

Outgoing lawmakers have claim-ed that they issued the bylaw partially to stop people from taking the law into their own hands, such as assaulting unmarried couples caught together.

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