T

he recent series of bombings in East Java has infused fresh urgency into the issue of the amendment of the 2003 Terrorism Law, deliberation of which had stalled at the House of Representatives as political factions squabbled over the finer details.

On Monday, speaking two hours after a family of five carried out a suicide bombing at the Surabaya Police headquarters, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo threatened to “intervene” if lawmakers failed to conclude their deliberation of the bill next month.

In a brief statement delivered during a break from a meeting with village heads, President Jokowi demanded the House pass an amendment to the law during the next session, which will open this Friday.

“If the House fails to pass the amendment by the end [of the session] in June, I will issue a Perppu [regulation in lieu of law],” Jokowi said.

Jokowi maintained that a stronger law against terrorism could serve as a legal umbrella under which the security authorities could prevent attacks.

By threatening to issue a Perppu, the President is looking to follow in the footsteps of former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, who resorted to issuing a Perppu on terrorism shortly after the 2002 Bali bombings, which left 202 people dead in the tourist district of Kuta.

The Perppu was eventually ratified into the current Terrorism Law.

Lawmakers began working to amend the Terrorism Law in February 2016, following the Jan. 14, 2016 bombings on Jl. Thamrin in Central Jakarta.

The main sticking points holding up deliberation are the legal definition of terrorism and the Indonesian Military’s (TNI) level of involvement in counterterrorism efforts.

In response to Jokowi’s statement, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto convened on Monday a meeting with leaders of political parties in the pro-government coalition, during which they made a pledge that the amendment of the Terrorism Law would pass in the House’s next session.

Speaking after the meeting, Wiranto said the government and lawmakers had agreed on the legal definition of terrorism in the bill.

Several lawmakers who took part in the meeting, however, claimed that no agreement had been reached.

Arsul Sani, a member of the House’s committee on the amendment said there were still two different legal definitions of what constituted terrorism.

The first definition has the phrase “with a political motive, ideological interest and/or threats to national security”, while the second does not, so as to provide the government with wider discretion in deploying security forces to counter what it regards as terrorism.

“This is only a matter of choosing between the two [...] for [lawmakers] it doesn’t matter whether it is the first or second option, but we still need to hear from the government’s team,” said Arsul, a politician with the United Development Party (PPP).

In contrast, Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker Risa Mariska, another committee member, said her party had agreed to support the government’s position on the amendment, which did not include the “political motive” clause.

“If we add too many things in the definition, it will make it harder for law enforcement to do its job in eradicating terrorism, which is why the PDI-P faction rejects putting in a definition,” Risa told reporters on Monday.

Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam) deputy director Wahyudi Djafar said the definition of terrorism should be consistent with the definition set out in the international treaties that Indonesia has already ratified.

“There should also be a clear differentiation between terrorism and other crimes against the state that are set out in the Criminal Code, so that it is not easily abused in its implementation,” he said.

As the government and politicians bickered over the definition of terrorism, Surabaya continued to be on edge on Monday following a series of blasts in and around the port city.

As of Monday evening, the East Java Police reported that the number of fatalities from five bomb explosions in Surabaya and Sidoarjo had risen to 28 people, 13 of whom were suicide bombers or their children, while dozens more suffered injuries.

After Sunday’s three bombings targeting churches, on Monday another suicide attack targeted the Surabaya Police headquarters.

Five people from a family blew themselves up at a police station in the city, wounding 10.

“There were five people on two motorbikes. One of them was a little kid,” National Police chief Tito Karnavian said. “This is one family.”

An 8-year-old girl from the family survived the attack and was taken to the hospital, while her mother, father and two brothers died in the blast, he said.

On Sunday, a family of six —including girls aged 9 and 12 —staged suicide bombings at three churches during morning services in Surabaya, 18 people died including the bombers.

Later on Sunday night, a bomb prematurely exploded in Sidoarjo, East Java, killing two adults and their son, who were believed to have been planning to launch a terror attack in the city. Two other children survived the blast.

Tito said the three families knew each other and were affiliated with pro-Islamic State (IS) group Jamaah Ansharud Daulah (JAD).

The father of the church suicide bombers was a local leader of JAD. (dpk)