Indonesian President Signs Emergency Decrees
( 2002-10-19 09:01 ) (7 )

Indonesia's president signed emergency legislation late Friday giving authorities wide powers to combat terrorism and investigate the deadly Bali bombings that killed nearly 200 people.

Indonesian police were waiting to question a militant Muslim cleric said by neighboring countries and Western intelligence agencies to be a key player in terrorism in the region. An aide said the cleric was sick and might not show up.

"The president has just signed two decrees on terrorism and on the Bali bombings," Justice Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra told a news conference.

Under the new regulations, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters, authorities will have much wider powers and as expected the death penalty has been extended.

"Police can detain anyone strongly suspected of acts of terrorism based on initial evidence for as long as seven days," the document said.

"Any person found intentionally using violence or a threat of violence that would create terror or unrest among the masses...faces the death penalty," it added.

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, has come under intense international pressure to clamp down on militant Islam but until now President Megawati Sukarnoputri has been reluctant for fear of alienating the majority of the moderate population.

Many analysts said the Bali atrocity changed all that, though Mahendra tried to play down fears the new legislation would single out any specific Muslim groups and abuse human rights.

"Opinions in some sections of society that the decrees are aimed at arresting militant Islamic leaders are wrong. The government respects and highly regards Islam as the majority of our people are Muslims," he told reporters.

"The president and vice president and the majority of the cabinet are Muslim therefore they automatically respect Islam," the minister added.