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House likely to reject ‘Guantanamo article’ in terrorism law revision
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Aziz Syamsuddin (second right) and Dossy Iskandar Prasetyo, members of House Commission III overseeing security, human rights and legal affairs, speak with prisoners during an inspection of Palembang District Court in Sumatra. (Courtesy of http://www.dpr.go.id//-)
T
he House of Representatives will be unlikely to pass several controversial articles deemed to abuse human rights in the draft revision of the Terrorism Law, following pressure from activists and organizations.
Among the controversial items is Article 43A, which lawmakers and rights activists called the “Guantanamo” article. It would allow investigators and prosecutors to place terrorism suspects, defendants and ex-terrorists along with their families in rehabilitation for six months as a preventive measure.
“The options are to omit it or to ensure an accountability mechanism,” committee deputy chairman Hanafi Rais of the National Mandate Party (PAN) said on Thursday after a hearing with rights groups, including the Setara Institute and Imparsial.
“We will not simply accept what the government wants because we want the bill to emphasize human rights protection,” he added.
"Guantanamo" refers to the US-run Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba, a military prison located within the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, which earned a bad reputation because of the harsh treatment -- sometimes amounting to torture -- suffered by the terrorist-suspect inmates.
An activist with the rights group Imparsial, Al Araf, said that letting the Guantanamo article pass would mean that Indonesia would be deciding to adopt the most dangerous counterterrorism model. “Don’t let the bill adopt such repressive mechanisms. Otherwise it will open a wide door for abuse of power,” he said.
Another problematic point is Article 28, which grants the police authority to extend the detention periods of terrorism suspects for up to one month and for up to 510 days after arrest, far longer than the maximum 180 days stipulated in the current law. (ags)
