RI Must Be Compensated For Wiretapping Cases: Expert

Jakarta, Nov 20 (Antara) - Indonesia must be compensated for its losses and public anger following the wiretapping of the Indonesian president and other state officials, recently resorted to by Western countries, a communication expert has said. "Indonesia does not have any other option other than reproving the leaders of the wiretapping countries for flouting the rules of ethics. There is nothing that can be done by Indonesia. Even bringing the case to the international court through the ITU (International Telecommunication Union) is not an option, as there is no such governance system," Commissioner of the Indonesian Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (BRTI) Dr Riant Nugroho said here on Wednesday. According to Riant, recalling the Indonesian ambassador to Australia will also serve no purpose because basically we know that we are all wiretapped. But we just do not know when and how." Stating that over and above receiving compensation for ethical violations in telecommunications, he said, Indonesia must also demand an apology from Australia, accused of conducting wiretapping, and insist on an official statement that such acts will not be repeated again. The government of Indonesia should strengthen the telecommunications policy, especially with regard to the governance policy of Indonesian consumer protection issues, under which lawful interception should only be allowed by law enforcement officers who are given the mandate to conduct wiretapping. Furthermore, the government must complete the national security bill and have it approved by the legislative assembly forum. "Meanwhile, in a bid to protect the communication path of state government officials, Indonesia should also set up a team with the highest capability in ICT technology to specially protect the VVIP communications," said Riant, who is also a lecturer at the University of Defence. He further said that the potential security threat increases when the majority shareholding of telecommunication operator companies is controlled by foreigners. However, with Law 36/1999, it can be resisted. Article 40 says every person is prohibited from conducting wiretapping on information transmitted over the telecommunications network in any form. Observing that because Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, many countries may be interested in exploiting and controlling it, Riant said that could be a reason why foreigners tend to commit political wiretapping, including unlawful interception. "BRTI makes sure that Indonesian mobile operators do not commit such interceptions, unless stated in Law 36/1999," Riant remarked.