House proceeds with Terrorism Law revision, Indonesia

The Jakarta Post

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(THE JAKARTA POST)The House of Representatives will decide the start of deliberations on a draft revision of the 2003 Terrorism Law in a discussion at the House’s Steering Committee (Bamus) next week, a lawmaker has said.

“It [the draft revision deliberation] will be decided at Bamus next week. Bamus will determine which House supporting tools will discuss the Terrorism Law revision,” House Speaker Ade Komarudin said at the House complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday.

The Golkar Party lawmaker said Bamus would also discuss the completion of the draft.

It was reported earlier that the government’s team had completed the draft on Jan 29. The House later stated that it would start deliberating the draft in early February.

The issuance of a presidential mandate following the completion of the draft gave a green light for tougher counterterrorism measures. House Legislation Body (Baleg) chairman Supratman Andi Agtas said on Wednesday that the House leaders had received the mandate.

A revision of the law, which was proposed by the government, is among priority bills in the 2016 National Legislation Program (Prolegnas).The House has 40 priority bills in the Prolegnas 2016 that must complete deliberation this year.

Human rights watchdog Imparsial director Al Araf has called on the government to give a guarantee on human rights protection in the law revision.

The rights activist added that the law should not give excessive counterterrorism authorities to the state. “A law should protect the rights of the citizens from possible abuse of power,” Al Araf said.