Bali bombings and civil liberties

["Tom O'Lincoln" <red_sites@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

In the aftermath of the bombings there is pressure on the Indonesian government 
to "get tough" on terrorism. The Melbourne Age reported today that the chief 
"suspect", Abu Bakar Bashir, hadn't been arrested because Indonesia had no law 
allowing detention without evidence, but "that is about to change".

This is a bit ironic for me because I was, of course, among those detained 
without evidence in Jakarta last year. The cops had, please note, openly 
collaborated with a Muslim fundamentalist group to break up our leftist 
conference. The Australian foreign minister expressed his confidence in the 
police.

In the police station, the Australian consular official warned us the cops 
could hold us for a prolonged period without evidence. He added, "of course we 
would never accept that in Australia." We decided it was tactically unwise at 
that point to confront him with the fact that refugees are detained in 
Australia indefinitely...

Anyway, here is some material on the Indonesian threats to civil 
liberties........


Indonesia: Bali Attack Should Not Undermine Civil Liberties

(New York, October 18, 2002)  The Indonesian governments response to the 
recent attack on civilians in Bali should not undermine the countrys already 
weak rights protections, Human Rights Watch said today.

Human Rights Watch strongly condemned the killings in the Bali bomb attack on 
October 12, but urged the government of Indonesia and other nations affected by 
the tragedy to exercise caution in their response.

The Indonesian police should conduct a speedy, professional investigation into 
the attack and bring the perpetrators to justice, said Brad Adams, executive 
director of the Asia Division of Human Rights Watch. But President Megawati 
and the Indonesian government must avoid the trap of issuing emergency decrees 
that may strengthen the role of the military in civilian affairs and lead to 
further human rights abuses.  ...

Under pressure from Western governments, the Indonesian government is now 
hastily preparing an emergency anti-terrorism decree. Depending on the 
provisions, this decree could give expanded authority to the police and 
military to allow arbitrary arrest and detention without adequate legal 
safeguards. According to some reports, the decree might allow the government to 
indefinitely detain anyone suspected of involvement in terrorism.

Given Indonesias weak judiciary, rampant corruption and poor human rights 
record, Human Rights Watch is concerned that such a decree would lead to a 
return of Soeharto-era abuses, including the torture of political detainees.

A draft anti-terrorism law has been the subject of a long, serious and public 
debate in Indonesias parliament. The intensity of the debate about the balance 
between security and civil liberties has been a promising sign of democratic 
development and political maturity. After the Bali killings, there has been 
intense international pressure for the government to sidestep the normal 
legislative process and issue a decree that the parliament would be asked to 
ratify later. But any anti-terrorism decree or legislation could open the door 
to widespread abuse and be used long after the war on terror ends, increasing 
public distrust of the military and police.

Indonesia already has appropriate criminal laws on the books to punish acts of 
violence, said Adams. This investigation is a chance to show the Indonesian 
people and the world that the Indonesian criminal justice system can function 
both efficiently and fairly.

Human Rights Watch supports international training and assistance to the 
Indonesian police as part of a broader effort to build the country's civilian 
institutions after 30 years of Soeharto's military rule, but not the resumption 
of unfettered military aid to Indonesia. Instead, Human Rights Watch supports 
proposed restrictions in the U.S. fiscal year 2003 foreign aid bill that would 
allow resumption of U.S. military training and lethal arms sales only if the 
president certifies that military personnel in Indonesia credibly alleged to 
have committed gross human rights violations have been suspended from duty and 
the military is fully cooperating with prosecutions of abusers.

For more information, please contact:

In New York, Brad Adams: +1-212-216-1228
In Washington, DC, Mike Jendrzejczyk:
(O) +1-202-612-4341  (H) +1-301-585-5824
In London, Urmi Shah: +44-20-7713-2788
In Brussels, Jean-Paul Marthoz: +322-732-2009




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