President: Accelerate Witness Protection Bill
Tuesday, 25 April, 2006 | 18:13 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono asked the members of the House of Representatives (DPR) and officials in the Politics, Law, and Security State Ministry to accelerate the drafting of the Witness and Informant Protection Bill.

According to the President, this law is an extremely fundamental one for law enforcement.

“It is wrong not to penalize felons,” said Yudhoyono in his welcoming speech at “The Role of Legal Aid in Advancing the Marginal People’s Access to Justice in Human Rights Context” summit meeting held by the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute Foundation in Jakarta yesterday (24/4).

Up to now, the President said he had received a lot of letters and SMSes reporting many kinds of crimes.

For this reason, he has asked that the witness protection bill be accelerated so that those who report or are witnesses can testify without fear.

“Actually there are many things that seem restricted. But if they are reported, the real problem will be clear,” said Yudhoyono.

In addition to requesting that the witness protection bill be accelerated, the President said he is currently analyzing the Freedom to Access Information draft bill.
If this law is enacted, Yudhoyono guarantees that people will have freedom according to international law as formulated by the United Nations.

Sunariah