By Ananta K. WibawaNo one can deny that press’s roles and status are very significant in national life. Its strategic role, broadly include information transformation to the society and public scrutiny. Therefore, the press has natural capital to become as one of social change agents. Nevertheless, when we reflect once again to various discourses that appeared related to Department of Defense’s efforts to struggle the draft of National Security Law in legislation period of 2007, there was something’s left in the discussion that is how national security concept regulates press’s roles and status.
The Indonesia’s government finally decided to review the draft of National Security Law. One of its revisions is a draft of the Law of the Indonesia National Defense Forces (TNI) Support to the Indonesia National Police (Polri) that was a part of the early draft of National Security Law before.
The Basic Concept of National Security
Actually, the concept of national security exists at any nation in the world, either explicitly written in a law regulation or implied in any similar kind of concept just like “National Awareness”. Nevertheless, it can’t deny that the early history of the concept clearly derived from some nations which were formed based on Westphalia System, commonly known as nation-states.
In the concept of nation-state, a nation is identified as a state, thus from here would appear what the so-called as the national interests and the national objectives. Both have higher value to be prioritized than personal or group’s interests. The consequence is a negative approach against national interests and objectives would be considered as a threat to the nation-state itself. Therefore, it will need a proper system to protect the national interest from various threats.
Since the 20th century, the system commonly known as National Security and then conform to society's norm and developed as a methodology which is need to protect the national interests and objectives and also become a measurement of security conditions in every nation.
For Indonesia, however, the nation-state concept had been determined its basis by the founding fathers through some discussions directed in Agency for Investigating Efforts for the Preparation of Indonesian Independence ( BPUPKI ) which resulted the concept of Indonesia Constitution. As well as common character of nation-state, here in Indonesia is also applied common sense principle whereas national interest surpasses personal or group’s interests.
Indonesia’s national interest is the achievement of its national objectives as described in preamble of The Republic of Indonesia Constitution, those are to protect the whole people of Indonesia and the entire homeland of Indonesia, and in order to advance general prosperity, to develop the nation's intellectual life, and to contribute to the implementation of a world order based on freedom, lasting peace and social justice,
The basic idea of the arrangement of national security law, however, is an effort to do a comprehensive approach in constructing national defense and security system including some synergy efforts between functions of national defense, national intelligence, environment security, law and order enforcement and a national security decision making system at the national level. If the early draft was considered improper in its process of the last legislation period, I am sure that this kind of law and/ or similar kinds will keep emerge in the future period.
It is inherited from four basic things. First, that our nation character as a nation-state. Second, there is an interest in achievement of its national objectives as described in preamble of The Republic of Indonesia Constitution. Third, that national defence and security system clearly need a comprehensive integral management system. Fourth, that national defense and security system which is regulated in article 30 of the constitution can not be reduced from the fact that the existence of Indonesia Nation is a manifest of Indonesians to implement their national objectives.
Commonly, national security to cover four scopes, those are human security, public security, environment security and national defense. The first three scopes are commonly identified as the internal security area and the last scope is identified as the external security area.
In internal security area, functions involved are public protection, law and order enforcement, information and communication, and financial and economic. While in external security area, functions involved are international relation, information and communication, financial and economic, intelligence, and defense.
The Press’s Roles
From the description above, it can be seen that information and communication functions, which press is one of its performer, have significant status, because these functions exist either in internal or external security area. Information is related to the knowledge level of human or an agency in understanding an object or some problems faced. While communication is closely related to some efforts to engage inter human and interagency relation in order to gain a properly understanding to one and others, so that will be gathered some agreement and some harmonic steps to achieve the objectives.
The inability to manage information and communication correctly will cause the emerging of understanding bias and will mess up anything which is done, including national security thing with all of its scopes.
The mass media is an important tool for information and communication management. This tool is owned and managed by the press and natured massively, either in using or in its impact. The purpose is very clearly seen from the media development itself.
Through what the so called as the new media in forms of internet, cable TV, interactive TV, video on demand, high definition TV, so the various information of politic, life style, entertainment and commercial will be delivered easily into private home environment without selected. The process of delivery surpasses normal velocity of printed mass media and its filtering process is more complicated.
If it is related to the interest of national security, then must be some effort to define precisely about some kinds of information and communication which are fit to it.
Commonly, from the perspectives of information and communication, the interest of national security imposes two requirements of direct concern both to the press and to the government. First, to the need for a far greater public information and second, to the need for far greater official secrecy Some requirements that may seem almost contradictory in tone, but which must be reconciled and fulfilled in order to avoid conflict of interest in managing the interest of national security.
The government and the press should have mutual understanding that national security can not be anticipated in authoritarian ways, remembering stream of change in the public that urged by information acceleration will need some clear mind and some broadly outlook to attitude accurately and proportionally. On the contrary, the stream of change as a big potential in values transformation also can’t let in concessive attitude without some wise thinking and the ability to sort both of good or bad impacts.
In the case of the assassination of an Indonesian human right activist, Munir, as an instance, some conflict of interest that appear could be distorted as if the government through our National Intelligence Agency ( BIN ) was confronting our public because the government used repressive ways in maintaining national security interest. Actually, the case clearly set a national strategic establishment in decaying condition inflicted by some irresponsible elements. This decaying could be happened because there is no proper law in intelligence field, thus inflicts some abusing power activities without can be reached easily by the positive laws. The inability of the intelligence agency to put forward a judicial approach, clearly become a hard knock for the strategic establishment.
From here, the press should be sharp enough to cover “the empty area” of the case in order to prompt the government and the public to understand the essential existence of proper law in intelligence field.
In our attitude toward the future, when this nation is going to start fixing various laws in national defense and security field which are more comprehensive e.g. national security law, thus national press should immediately form a working group for an effort in constructing an academic paper which shall accommodate some points of thinking by the press regarding the concept of national security with all of its attributes. Determine relevant conditions in freedom of information and national secrecy which are appropriate in the interest of national security.
The press’s base of thinking should start from the existence of a national society which is dynamic, responsive and tended to criticism, so that may consider some positive or negative factors. A society viewed as the information subject and also the citizen who understand about their rights and duties through empowerment of properly information and communication and primarily not to humiliate their dignity.
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