The Jakarta Post
Wednesday, October 12, 2005

TNI's Role in Terror Fight Still Debated

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Debate is stirring among government officials following President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's request that the Indonesian Military (TNI) actively help crack down on terrorists last week.

Top officials gathered on Tuesday to discuss the issue, but were not yet able to formulate an appropriate task for the military whose role has been reduced to defense affairs since 1999.

"We are still defining a framework of cooperation between the police and the military," National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Maj. Gen. (ret) Sjamsir Siregar said after a meeting on political, legal and security affairs on
Tuesday.

He refused to elaborate.

Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono, who also attended the meeting, said the TNI would assist the police by making use of its "eyes and ears".

Dismissing fears of the reinstatement of New Order style repressive measures, Juwono underlined there would be an intelligence operation to hunt down terrorists.

"Our national defense system requires cooperation between the TNI and the police to fight terrorism nationwide. Indeed, our soldiers have been trained to take preemptive measures, but I must emphasize that in the war on terror the TNI will only supply intelligence information to the police and the police will still take the lead," Juwono said.

A different opinion was voiced by Insp. Gen. (ret) Ansja'ad Mbai of the Office of the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs.

Ansja'ad said TNI territorial commanders could have the authority to arrest suspected terrorists before handing them over to the police.

"If we want the whole country to be protected from any kind of terror threats, then we must empower all elements of this nation to take part in the war on terror. Even regional military commanders should be authorized to arrest
terror suspects," he said after the meeting.

"But, of course, the commanders must immediately hand over the suspects to the police."

The bombings on the resort island of Bali on Oct. 1 have prompted the President to order the TNI to be proactive in taking measures to prevent further attacks.

In response, TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said he would reactivate the much-criticized TNI territorial function.

During the New Order era, the territorial function enabled the military to play a sociopolitical role, which then led to rampant human rights abuses.

The reform movement following the fall of the New Order government in 1998 returned the task of security to the police, with the TNI playing a supporting role.

But Law No. 34/2004 on military reform did not scrap the TNI's territorial structure, ranging from the provincial to village levels.

In order to prevent abuses from recurring, critics have suggested that the government allow the military to merely intensify its intelligence capacity, but make sure the leading role remains in the hands of the police.

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The Jakarta Post
Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Let TNI do the job, but with restrictions

Imanuddin Razak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A request for the Indonesian Military (TNI) to take part in effectively preventing and acting against terrorism in the wake of the second Bali bomb blast was recently delivered by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. And TNI Chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto has responded by suggesting that the Military would restore the dormant territorial command to deal with the matter.

Quoting a popular proverb, Sekali pedang dihunus, pantang untuk mundur (Once the sword is unsheathed, it is taboo for a knight to retreat), it is now rather difficult for the President to withdraw his statement.

And the only remaining position that the President can take is to make sure that the mandate he has given to the TNI will not be abused by this institution.

Susilo's public request on Oct. 5, 2005 for the TNI to get involved in the government's campaign against terror showed on one hand his determination to immediately respond to such a terrorist attack.

On the other hand, however, it also showed the President's desperation in bringing to an end the series of bombing attacks that have been hitting the country since the late 1990s. It also demonstrates the powerlessness of the Indonesian intelligence community and Police, which are legally responsible for domestic security affairs, who collectively are still unable to bring the two top bombing fugitives -- Dr. Azahari Husin and Noordin M. Top -- to justice.

The President's official statement while addressing the TNI's 60th anniversary was responded to by Endriartono immediately after the ceremony. Endriartono surprisingly stated that the TNI would reactivate its territorial command -- from the provincial-level Regional Military Command (Kodam) to the village-level unit, known with the term Babinsa -- in order to meet the President's request.

The territorial command used to be equipped with intelligence arms, with Babinsa being at the forefront of the system.

The military chief's statement has drawn strong opposition from various elements in the community, who expressed their fear of the return to human rights and political abuses by the military should the command be reinstated. Many, including People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Hidayat Nur Wahid,
suggested that the State should empower the existing intelligence community and the police to tackle such terrorist attacks, rather than reestablishing the command.

Questioning the government's policies, especially on strategic issues involving the lives of the country's over 220 million population, is a must and guaranteed by al democratic societies. The question should then be why or
what has made the President turn to the TNI to help the government in its campaign against terror attacks in the country?

Constitutionally speaking, the authority and responsibility to deal with domestic security affairs lays with the police. Such authority is guaranteed by Article 30 of the Constitution and Law No. 2/2002 on National Police.

It's been three years since the first blasts rocked Bali. But the police still find it difficult to locate the whereabouts of Azahari and Noordin, who are believed to be the masterminds behind the series of bomb attacks in the
country over the past few years, and have only managed to capture the bombers and their accomplices.

The police's incapacity was admitted by police internal think tank member, Bambang Widodo, who said in a seminar on security sector reforms last August that it was impossible for the police to deal with the terror attacks alone.

The police force indeed has adopted a good structural system to prevent such terror attacks. However, the system -- known as koban in Japanese -- which puts police officers on the ground in neighborhoods -- is still on trial at the Bekasi Police, West Java. It cannot be expected to perform at such a short notice while the need for immediate handling of terror attacks is palpable. It will take the police at least five years to train its officers and establish koban offices nationwide.

Meanwhile, it is not possible to expect much from the country's intelligence community either as they lack the constitutional basis to move and deter any potential terror attacks. While the intelligence bill is being drafted,
expecting the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) to do its utmost to combat terrorism, despite the coordinating role it has among the country's intelligence circles, is also an impossibility.

Now, it is up to the Indonesian people to decide whether to continue with all the controversies and let the terrorist attacks continue, or allow the TNI help with the task, but with clear job specifications, i.e. to curb and deal
with the terrorist attacks only.

After all, it is the President's prerogative to order the TNI to actively become involved in the matter. Therefore, there should be a presidential decree that clearly gives a mandate to the TNI to perform only the designated duty.

And should one day the mandate be abused by the TNI, the whole nation, most of whom voted for Susilo in last year's election, can demand accountability from the President as the one who gave this mandate to the TNI.