The Indonesian People’s Consultative Assembly yesterday approved a tougher anti-terrorism law as it seeks to combat a surge in homegrown Muslim militancy, days after suicide bombings claimed by the Islamic State killed more than 30 people in the city of Surabaya.
Revising a 2003 law became a top priority for the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country after the Surabaya attacks, the deadliest in Indonesia in nearly two decades.
The revised law allows police to preemptively detain suspects for longer and prosecute those who join or recruit for militant groups.
It also seeks to determine the sensitive issue of the military’s role in counterterrorism operations.
“The president hopes that with the passage of this bill, we can be successful in eradicating terrorism using both soft power and hard power,” Johan Budi, a spokesman for Indonesian President Joko Widodo, said in a text message.
Indonesia’s most deadly Muslim militant attack took place on the tourist island of Bali in 2002, when bombers killed 202 people, most of them foreign tourists.
In subsequent years, Indonesia scored some major successes in tackling militancy.
However, there has been a resurgence of militant violence and scores of Indonesians have traveled to the Middle East to fight for the Islamic State.
Thousands are believed to be drawing inspiration from the group at home.
Law enforcement agencies have complained that they lack the power to detain militants suspected of plotting attacks unless a threat is made or an attack actually carried out.
Under the revised law, anyone suspected of planning an attack can be held for up to 21 days for an initial examination, instead of a week, and for up to 200 days for a formal investigation.
Suspects would also be open to prosecution for joining a “terrorist” organization, disseminating such teachings or taking part in military-style training at home or overseas.
Those convicted of smuggling explosives or other chemicals and weapons into or out of the country for “terrorism” would face a maximum penalty of death.
The revised bill was proposed by Widodo’s government in early 2016, after a gun and suicide bomb attack in Jakarta, which at the time was the first Islamic State-linked attack in Southeast Asia.
However, the proposed changes languished in the legislature amid concern over infringement of rights and after some parties objected to clauses that could mean greater military involvement in internal security.
The new bill says that overcoming terrorism is part of the military’s operations outside of war, but it can only get involved upon a request from the police and with presidential approval.
Separately, Widodo’s government has proposed setting up a special military task force to boost the efforts of the elite counterterrorism police squad Densus 88.
There have long been concerns that rivalry between the police and the military could complicate the fight against militants.
“They will only be allowed to get involved in the operational phase, where the police feel they need more resources,” senior government official Atmadji Sumarkidjo said of the military.
The bombings in Surabaya, in which two families, including children as young as eight, carried out suicide attacks on churches and a police station, added a sense of urgency to the legislation.
Andreas Harsono of Human Rights Watch welcomed the central role of the national counterterrorism agency in the new bill, but said more needed to be done to monitor radicalized people returning from the Middle East.
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