Indonesia urged to curb free speech, assembly to fight Islamic State

Counter-terror agency fears spread of jihadist ideology.

Demonstrators stage a theatrical protest denouncing Islamic State and its radical ideology in Solo, Central Java, on Monday.

Indonesia:  Indonesia’s counterterrorism agency has urged the government to revise laws governing freedom of assembly and speech in a bid to tackle supporters of the extremist group Islamic State (IS).

Inspector Geneneral Arief Dharmawan, deputy for law enforcement and skills building at the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), said the government must revise the controversial 2013 Law on Mass Organization to prevent IS ideology spreading.

“We have stated that the mass organizations law must be revised and expanded because it only regulates the registered mass organizations,” Arief said on Thursday.

“What about those unregistered groups, how do we regulate how they should be disbanded? We need a clear legal basis,” he added.

Arief also said the government must consider a revision to the 1998 Law on Free Speech.

“Can you imagine if pro-IS people made a speech at a public event like the Car Free Day and then declared that the government were infidels and killing them should be justified?” Arief said.

The comments are likely to alarm rights groups who fear the recent rush of calls for a more aggressive stance against domestic supporters of IS could led to abuse of powers by security forces.

The Mass Organization Bill came under heavy criticism from the public, NGOs and unions when it was passed in 2013, with many arguing some of its provisions were repressive.

But the BNPT, which has recently expressed frustration about its powers under existing anti-terror laws, says the bill does not go far enough.

The law only stipulates administrative sanctions for the violators and does not provide monitoring mechanisms for the mass organizations, Arief said.

“This loophole has caused unregistered mass organizations to appear and they openly support IS,” he said.

Arief said the Western Indonesian Mujahiddin (MIB), Eastern Indonesian Mujahiddin (MIT) and Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid have openly declared their support for IS.

The BNPT last week called on President Joko Widodo to issue a regulation in lieu of law, or perppu, prohibiting Indonesians from traveling to “conflict-prone” countries.

The organization has decried its inability to detain and charge Indonesians suspected of traveling to the Middle East to join the jihadist movement.

Source: The Jakarta Globe