Indonesia to strengthen anti-terrorist laws following Jakarta attack

Indonesian President Joko Widodo is considering a revision to the country's anti-terrorism law following last week's attack by Islamic State in Jakarta that left eight people dead. The proposed changes would prohibit Indonesians from joining radical group overseas and would make it easier for officials to arrest anyone suspected of planning an attack.

At a high-level security meeting held on Tuesday, President Joko Widodo discussed amendments to anti-terorism law in the country with senior law enforcement and security officials, Press TV reported.

Joko Widodo, well known as Jokowi, highlighted at the meeting the urgency to review current anti-terrorism laws that allow Indonesians to freely return home after fighting with Islamic State in conflict regions. The president is considering a clear policy and laws banning the return Indonesian militants.

Senior officials in Jakarta said about 500 Indonesians have travelled to the conflict regions in Middle East to join militant groups. The officials believe that nearly 100 of them have returned to the country in recent months.

Indonesia parliamentary speaker Zulkifli Hasan told Reuters that President Jokowi and other officials have agreed to review the anti-terrorism law to focus on prevention.

Hasan asserted the terrorism laws in Indonesia need to be broadened, because "there is nothing currently covering people going overseas (to join radical groups) and returning."

Chief security minister Luhut Pandjaitan said that the new regulation would give police the authority to preemptively and temporarily detain a suspect while they get information to prevent future incidents. Pandjaitan said that the detention could last up to two weeks.

The security minister said that there are some people who feel this won't be a solution to the problem, but at the very least it will make it easier to get intelligence data and make it harder for terrorists to get space to operate.

President Jokowi said the fact that many Indonesian people have left for Syria or returned is very pressing. Joko Widodo said that the discussions on the new anti-terrorist laws were still at an early stage and when the decision would be made has not yet been confirmed.

However, the review of anti-terrorism laws has faced opposition from some political parties, human rights organisations and radical Islamic groups, BBC News reported.

Critics said that the new laws could be used as a tool of repression. Some also said the laws revision would give the police a sweeping power like they had in the dictatorship of General Suharto, who ruled the country under a brutal regime that persecuted dissenters and silenced the opposition.

Indonesia Vice President, Jusuf Kalla, said that there was no urgent need to revise the law. The Islamic party PAN supports Kalla's opinion. While another Islamic party PKS said it would support the new anti-terrorism laws as long as there were checks and balances.

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Indonesia, Joko Widodo, anti-terrorism, anti-terrorism law, Islamic state, Jakarta, Jokowi

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