Thursday, August 13, 2009

Indonesian State Secrecy Bill ‘Ironic










The Press Council says the current State Secrecy Bill is an ironic twist on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s election commitment to uphold democracy and the rights of all citizens with both the government and the House of Representatives have been doing nothing but deliberating bills, such as the State Secrecy Bill, that have the tendency to charge the press as criminals.

Civil society groups have opposed the bill due to vague definitions surrounding the status of confidential material, which they claim is prone to abuse.

One of the bill’s most controversial clauses concerns the death penalty for anyone found guilty of leaking confidential information.

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