Statement of HTI On the Law of Criminal Terrorism Financing

STATEMENT of  HIZB-UT TAHRIR INDONESIA

on

The Law of Criminal Terrorism Financing

Through plenary session held on Tuesday (12/2), the House finally approved the draft on the Prevention and Eradication Criminal Terrorism Financing Law (The Bill of P2TP2T) into a law. The course of the discussion of the bill was neither reported by the media nor attracted public attention.

The bill is in fact intended to position Indonesia as a country which participates internationally in the efforts to combat the financing of terrorism as a consequence of Law No. 6/2006 on the Ratification of the International Convention For The Suppression Of The Financing Of Terrorism, 1999 (International Convention on Combating Financing of Terrorism, 1999), (State Gazette of the Republic of Indonesia Year 2006 Number 29, Supplement to State Gazette of the Republic of Indonesia Number 4617). This bill is actually fraught with problems.  People should be worried about the content of the law which will give room for the abuse of power so that the funds of the blameless parties will be lost due financial blockade or confiscation. In addition, this law would also create new problems where the climate of suspicion should be built in a financial transaction.

There are some points to criticize about the law: Firstly, the law provides the opportunity to abuse of power. The existence of the term “reasonably suspected” which is related to terrorism, as mentioned in chapter 1. Paragraph 1, also in Article 1, Paragraph 7, Article 2, Article 3 and Article 4, is entirely blurred and indistinct. Besides, who has the right to decide that someone is “reasonably suspected”? This gives room to the abuse of power, due to the uncertainty of the criteria. Secondly, this bill could lead to new complexity that could hamper a smooth transaction in big amount, which in turn could have an effect on economic activities. Thirdly, all of these stipulations could target a very wide range of people. Article 1 on the limitation of Financial Transaction Related to Financing of Terrorism, for example, is still very biased, so that it can target anyone and can be influenced or even dictated by foreign interests given the definition of terrorism is still biased.

In relation with that this issue, Hizb ut-Tahrir Indonesia states:

1. Reject the Law of the Prevention and Anti Criminal Terrorism Financing (P2TP2T Law) because the law could potentially add harm for the people in general and the Muslims in particular, more specifically the Islamic organizations or groups, caused by the abuse of power due to vagueness of the definitions, limitations and criteria of terrorists and terrorist funding. The ummah have already become the victims simply with the Law No. 15/2003 on Anti Terrorism Activity, such as the repeated occurrence of improper arrests and firings conducted by Detachment 88 againts the Islamic activists. Moreover, with this Law, the tyrannical attitude will surely be rampant. By this law, the security forces can arbitrarily block certain accounts or accuse certain parties involved in terrorist activities due to the financial transactions made by the alleged terrorists. If this situation happens, it gives very terrible impacts.
2. In fact, what is needed now is to rearrange the correct frame of thinking about what or who really are the biggest threats for this country and how to deal with them. Based on the real facts, the biggest threat is no other than the modern imperialism that has gripped this country in many aspects of life, especially in politics and economics, which is conducted by the imperialist countries such as the U.S. and its allies. It is against that imperialist power should the nation’s energy be directed.
3. Call upon the people to be together to earnestly strive for the enforcement of the sharia and Khilafah. Be sure that it is only under the  shade of Daulah will the mercy of Islam be materialized, including the protection of the dignity of the ummah and the sovereignty of the Muslim country such as Indonesia from the real terrorist threats, and the power of global imperialism. Insha Allah.

Hasbunallah wa ni’mal wakiil, ni’mal mawla wa ni’man nashiir.

Spokesman for Hizb ut-Tahrir Indonesia

Muhammad Ismail Yusanto