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Standoff Over Aceh Stoning Legislation
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Tapol
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Oct 26, 2009 05:25 PST
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From Joyo
The Jakarta Globe
October 26, 2009
Standoff Over Aceh Stoning Legislation
by Camelia Pasandaran
Debate continues over whether Aceh’s controversial and draconian
stoning law is now in force, with opponents, including Aceh
Governor Irwandi Yusuf, saying it will never be implemented.
Speaking to the Jakarta Globe, Irwandi said the law, enacted by
the former Aceh Legislative Council (DPRA), was being reviewed
by the newly elected council.
“We will wait for the revision of the law from the legislative
council,” Irwandi said.
The former council was widely condemned for enacting the bylaw,
locally called Qanun Jinayat, which calls for the stoning of
adulterers to death and 100 lashes for premarital sex.
The bylaw also mandates corporal punishment for rapists,
molesters, those who drink alcohol and gamblers, as well as
those caught alone with members of the opposite sex who are not
their immediate family.
Irwandi said the government had objected to the stoning
provision during the deliberation of the law.
“Since the process began we have strongly objected to the law,
especially the rajam sanction,” he said.
Previously, former DPRA deputy speaker Raihan Iskandar said the
law would only become effective if it was approved by the
governor.
However, on Oct. 15 councillor Moharriadi Syafari said the bill
would automatically become law 30 days after being passed by the
council, despite the governor’s refusal to endorse it.
Since the bill was passed by the council on Sept. 14, he said,
it is now officially a law.
He added that people should not view Qanun Jinayat from a
“narrow-minded” perspective. He said it was intended to “save”
people.
“Just because the Qanun Jinayat has been passed, it doesn’t mean
we will start stoning people in Aceh,” Syafari said. “It’s very
difficult to prove adultery. Even if a person admits to
adultery, they will not automatically be stoned.”
However, Irwandi maintained that the bill would never become a
law until he approved it.
“It is still a draft, not a law,” he said.
Mardiyanto, the former minister of home affairs, agreed. He said
the legislation would remain a bill until the Aceh government
approved it.
“It can’t be implemented as long as the government has not
approved it,” Mardiyanto said. “If it ever officially becomes a
law, we will file for a judicial review with the court. A bylaw
that goes against national law cannot be implemented.”
Irwandi said that Aceh government was now waiting for the
revision of the bill.
“We will keep discussing the draft until we reach an agreement,”
he said.
“If the DPRA keeps refusing to an agreed revision, we will keep
rejecting it. It depends on them.”
He also said that there was no timeline on when the government
should sign it.
“There’s no deadline,” he said. “It depends solely on when an
agreement is reached.”
Irwandi’s continued demands for a revision appear to have
worked. Last Tuesday, Hasbi Abdullah, the acting council
chairman, and the Aceh Legislative Council members agreed to
review the bill.
“Qanun Jinayat is still controversial and the Acehnese people
are not ready for it. They need a better understanding of their
religion,” he said.
Abdullah, an Aceh Party lawmaker tipped to lead the provincial
legislature for the next five years, said current councillors
were generally against the bylaw and eager to revise it.
The Aceh Party, which was set up by former leaders of the now
defunct Free Aceh Movement (GAM), controls the local legislature.
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