Will Indonesia toughen its anti-terror laws after deadly IS-linked attack?

Indonesian president Joko Widodo wants to amend the country's anti-terror laws in the wake of last week's attacks in Jakarta. But some lawmakers remain wary.

|
Achmad Ibrahim/AP/File
Indonesian policemen patrolled Sunday outside the Starbucks cafe in Jakarta, Indonesia, where last Thursday's attack took place.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has called for revisions to the country’s anti-terrorism laws in the wake of last Thursday’s attack in Jakarta.

The assault, perpetrated by several men linked to Islamic State (IS), left four civilians dead and more than 20 injured after several explosions and gun battles in the Indonesian capital. It was Jakarta’s first major terror attack since 2009 and the first blamed on IS. Still, some Indonesian lawmakers are reluctant to support Mr. Widodo’s proposed legislation.

“I think that discussions between the House leadership and the President don’t substantially represent the [opinion of the entire] House, especially without prior consultation with the relevant commissions,” Mahfudz Siddiq, chairman of the House of Representatives’ Commission I for Defense, Foreign and Information Affairs, told The Jakarta Post, adding that it is “too early to support” Widodo’s plan.

Indonesia has been targeted by terrorists in the past: Islamist militant group Jemaah Islamiyah carried out several attacks throughout the 2000s and still remains active in the country. 

Widodo’s proposal for new regulations appears to be aimed at the hundreds of Indonesians believed to have traveled to join IS in the Middle East. Officials worry that many plan to or already have come back to Indonesia and could put their military training to use. 

"This is very pressing,” Widodo said, according to Reuters. “Many people have left for Syria or returned.”

Widodo’s proposals could grant Indonesia's national intelligence agency the power to detain suspects for up to two weeks and allow authorities to arrest citizens without hard evidence of links to criminal or terror activities. Another change would impact Indonesians' attempts to travel to join foreign jihadist groups and later come home. There is no law against their return at present. 

Critics say these revisions could be hastily enacted in ways that infringe on civil liberties. Indonesia restored democracy in 1998 after decades of dictatorship which has left a legacy of distrust towards blanket powers for security forces. 

"The concern is they want to have the power to arrest anyone,” Andreas Harsono, Indonesia Researcher for Human Rights Watch, told The Voice of America (VOA). 

While Widodo does have some support within the legislature, the struggle over the anti-terror plan could lead him to issue a Perppu to cement the initiative into law. A Perppu, similar to an executive order, would give Widodo the power to introduce his revisions to the House and allow for only a yes or no vote from the lawmakers.

Without the Perppu though, it could be a while before Indonesian lawmakers discuss and potentially ratify the motion.

“The legislature has been notoriously slow and has a massive backlog on the issues it needs to deal with,” said Monash University’s Global Terrorism Research Center Director Greg Barton via VOA. “The chances of quickly dealing with this issue are not good."

Some politicians, such as Mr. Siddiq, still hope that the resolution can reach the House as standard legislation. “I would suggest they do a comprehensive review of the situation - there’s no need to be reactive or divisive,” he told the Jakarta Post.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Will Indonesia toughen its anti-terror laws after deadly IS-linked attack?
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2016/0121/Will-Indonesia-toughen-its-anti-terror-laws-after-deadly-IS-linked-attack
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe