The Clinton Internet Doctrine

US warns China and other countries which used to suppress their citizens use of internet as freedom of expression. Indonesia, as one of US most staunch allies, should be warned too with its UU ITE (undang-undang informasi dan transaksi elektronik) or Cyber Law.

Stepping up the Obama administration’s commitment to promoting a free and open Internet around the world, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday that the United States would lead an international effort to combat censorship and cyberattacks. And she urged American companies to rethink whether to do business in countries that curtail the Internet.

“Censorship should not be in any way accepted by any company from anywhere,” Clinton said. “The private sector has a shared responsibility to help safeguard free expression. And when their business dealings threaten to undermine this freedom, they need to consider what’s right, not just what’s a quick profit.”

Her remarks, billed as a major foreign policy address, came on the heels of Google’s announcement that it is considering pulling out of China after a series of highly sophisticated cyberattacks that targeted the search giant as well as dozens of other Silicon Valley firms operating there. Clinton called on the Chinese government to conduct a thorough and transparent review of the attacks, while singling out China, Iran, Egypt and several other countries for what she called growing control over their citizens’ use of the Web.

White House mourns Abdurrahman Wahid

The White House, through its spokesman, mourns Gus Dur’s death

The White House Wednesday mourned Indonesia’s ex-president Abdurrahman Wahid, praising him as a paragon of religious tolerance who played a vital role in a democratic transition.
“The people of the United States join Indonesians in mourning the death of former President Abdurrahman Wahid,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a statement.

“A pivotal figure in Indonesia’s transition to democracy, President Wahid will be remembered for his commitment to democratic principles, inclusive politics, and religious tolerance,” Gibbs said.

“He worked for peace and prosperity for all Indonesians, and he sought to be a bridge between people of different faiths. We extend our deepest condolences to former President Wahid’s family and to the people of Indonesia.”

Wahid, who came to power in 1999 after Indonesia’s first general elections following the fall of military strongman Suharto, died in hospital earlier Wednesday, aged 69.

The father of tolerance

An attribute from JP for Gus Dur’s death

Friends and foes, Muslims and non-Muslims, old and young as well as majority and minority groups across the country all agreed that Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid has left an invaluable legacy of moderation to the people of Indonesia, and to the whole world.

As soon as he passed away at Cipto Mangunkusumo hospital in Jakarta on Wednesday, many people from various walks of life, including officials in the regencies, agreed that the former president had, at times almost single-handedly, carried forward Indonesia’s image as a pluralist and democratic country in the eyes of the international community, despite a world marked by conflict and extremism.

“We just lost a great statesman who fought to keep the country pluralist, while fighting fundamentalism. He was a true democrat, respecting even his political foes,” noted lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis said.

Gus Dur is Dead

May his soul rest in peace. He plays a pivotal role in making Indonesia’s Islam known for its tolerance. Even NYS says so.

Abdurrahman Wahid, the eccentric, nearly blind Muslim cleric who served for almost two turbulent years as Indonesia’s president, championing a tolerant brand of Islam, died on Wednesday in Jakarta at the age of 69.

He had suffered for years with kidney problems and the aftereffects of strokes and had been forced to use a wheelchair. He died during surgery to remove a blood clot, a doctor at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital in Jakarta told The Associated Press.

A politically moderate intellectual who led Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization, Mr. Wahid became the first person to win a contested presidential election, in 1999, outflanking the more powerful candidate, Megawati Sukarnoputri, in a parliamentary vote.

Noordin Top’s Father-in-law arrested

Like father, like son(-in-law), via Xin Hua

The Indonesian national police headquarters on Thursday confirmed the arrest of Bahrudin Latif aka Baridin, the father-in-law of the late Noordin M Top, the country’s most wanted terrorist who was killed in a raid in Central Java province, the Kompas.com online news reported.

Baridin, one of the police targets, was captured by the anti-terror squad of Densus 88 in Garut regency of West Java province at 05:00 local time (1000 GMT on Wednesday).

MK to KPK: Ignore the regulation on interception

KPK must not obey regulation on interception, said MK (Constitutional Court) chief, via JP

The government’s plan to issue a regulation on intercepting wiretapping did not apply to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), since it had stronger powers, Constitutional Court chief Mahfud MD said Wednesday.

“The KPK does not have to obey the regulation because its authority is legalized by the 2002 KPK Law, which is on a higher regulatory level,” Mahfud said.

Mahfud said the law protected interception authority. He said the regulation could only rule a law article, not interception authority that was given to legal institutions.

“The regulation will likely breach the law if it regulates all interception systems,” he said.

Indonesia Wiretapping Bill

I don’t understand why Depkominfo has the plan to regulate the wiretapping (penyadapan) for KPK in the first place. That’s why it’s understandable if minister Tifatul Sembiring has been called by Adnan Buyung as “corrupter supporter” because none will get full advantage of this policy except the corrupters.

Meanwhile, we should question President SBY’s commitment to fight against corruption while at the same time dwarf the anti-corruption insitution with this bill if implemented. via Jakarta Globe

Minister of Communication and Information Technology Tifatul Sembiring pledged on Tuesday to find a “middle ground” on two crucial points in the controversial wiretapping bill that have been criticized by the Corruption Eradication Commission.

Tifatul met privately on Tuesday with Tumpak Hatorangan Panggabean, the interim head of the commission, known as the KPK.

He said the KPK questioned the ministry’s plan to require a court order to tap telephones and to establish the so-called National Interception Agency, which is designed to handle all wiretapping requests from law-enforcement agencies.

Tuesday’s meeting “will not be our last,” Tifatul said. “We still have time until April 2010, when we plan to finish deliberating the bill. We will continue discussing the two points intensively. Hopefully before that we could come up with some sort of a middle ground.”

KPK spokesman Johan Budi said the latest version of the bill wiretapping still contained a number of unclear provisions.