Indonesian laws seen hampering fight against terror

JAKARTA, Dec 6 (Reuters) Indonesia needs to beef up its legal system to cope with the threat of terrorism after democratic reforms in recent years watered down the powers of government agencies, senior security officials said today.

The establishment of democracy following the fall of president Suharto in 1998 has weakened the role of the country's once-feared intelligence agencies, making them less effective in detecting security threats, they said.

''Frankly, I must say that Indonesia's legal basis is one of the softest in the world,'' said Ansyaad Mbai, the head of the counter-terrorism desk at the security ministry.

He said Singapore and Malaysia had not suffered major terrorist attacks thanks to tough legal measures, including Internal Security Acts, which allow detention without charge.

''In Indonesia, even before terrorists stand trial, the police have already faced public trial and the intelligence apparatus is in the dock,'' he told a meeting of national security officials.

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, has in recent years been hit by a series of deadly bomb attacks blamed on Jemaah Islamiah, the region's biggest militant group.

More than 190 militants have been convicted in connection with these attacks, and five sentenced to death, said Mbai.

Djoko Sumaryono, a secretary to top security minister Widodo Adi Sucipto, said democratic reforms had resulted in the powers of the intelligence services being curtailed.

COOPERATION NEEDED ''We have to look for an immediate solution to this problem.

Cooperation and information from the public are extremely needed and public participation in fighting terrorism is one of our weaknesses,'' he told the meeting.

Mbai also said provisions in the criminal code on evidence gathering were not in tune with modern practices and needed to be amended.

''I was in Paris to meet judges and prosecutors there. They asked us what our problems were and I showed them Article 184 (on evidence) and they said 'That's a system from the era of Napoleon Bonaparte','' he said.

Untung Rajab, a senior officer at the national police's criminal investigation department, said the country's anti-terrorism laws should be reviewed.

''We have seen that those who aided terrorist leaders were given light sentences. They should have received the same heavy punishment,'' he said.

Around 85 per cent of Indonesia's 220 million people are Muslim.

The vast majority are moderates but there is an active militant minority.

Although Indonesia has been relatively calm in recent months, security analysts say the threat of militant attacks is still high because police have yet to catch one of the alleged masterminds of previous bombings, Malaysian-born Noordin Top.

Police last year killed Azahari Husin, an alleged Jemaah Islamiah leader, in a shootout in East Java province.

REUTERS LL PM1506