TheJakartaPost
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Terrorism Law still in limbo
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Fatal attack: Indonesian Police officers carry the coffin of police officer Imam Gilang Adinata who was killed in a suicide bombing at the Kampung Melayu bus terminal in East Jakarta on May 24. . (AFP/Adek Berry)
T
he twin suicide bombings that left three policemen dead on Thursday in East Jakarta, coupled with the brazen terrorist attack in the commercial heart of Central Jakarta last year, in which eight people were killed, including the four perpetrators, highlight a lack of urgency in strengthening anti-terrorism law to prevent future attacks.
The much-awaited revision to the 2003 Terrorism Law, which would give police the power of preventive detention of suspects without trial for up to six months, remains in limbo despite calls by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo since last year to accelerate its completion.
Since April last year, two months after the gun and bomb attack near the Sarinah shopping center, the amendment of Law No. 15/2003 on terrorism has seen little progress as the government and the House of Representatives have yet to agree on several key revisions.
Among the contentious issues is the government’s request to expand the authority of the police to arrest, detain and question suspected terrorists without prior investigation.
Dubbed by lawmakers and human rights activists the “Guantanamo” article, the revision would also allow the police to place terrorism suspects, defendants and former terrorist convicts along with their families in a rehabilitation center for six months as a preventive measure.
“Guantanamo” refers to the notorious United States-run Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba, a military prison located within the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, which has earned a grim reputation because of the harsh treatment — sometimes amounting to torture — endured by terrorist suspects.
Under the proposed revision, the police would also have the authority to arrest people for conveying hate speech, distributing radical materials and taking part in paramilitary training, even training that did not involve weapons of any kind.
