Ubedilah Badrun, a social-political academic at Jakarta State\nUniversity (UNJ), highlighted the military\u2019s role in civil governance\nand national development during a discussion titled \u2018Remilitarisation\nand Indonesia\u2019s Democratic Future: Unpacking Defence Sector Reform,\nCivil Supremacy, and Threats to Human Rights\u2019 in Jakarta on Friday (29\nMay).<\/p>\n
Ubedilah argued that the military\u2019s involvement in civil domains,\nwhich should be democratically managed, poses a serious challenge to\ndemocracy and human rights. He attributed this trend to sociological\nbackgrounds and political imaginaries of power elites rooted in past\ncultures.<\/p>\n
\u2018Remiliterisation stems from social cognition of the past interpreted\nsubjectively by power elites,\u2019 Ubedilah stated.<\/p>\n
He also noted that critical dialogue spaces are increasingly\nconstrained, compounded by national economic challenges including fiscal\nand monetary pressures across regions.<\/p>\n
M. Aryanang Irsal, IGJ Programme Manager, pointed out the dominant\nsecurity approach in safeguarding civil projects, including National\nStrategic Projects (PSN). He said foreign investment and international\ncorporations entering national projects often clash with agrarian and\nsocial conflicts affecting indigenous communities and local\nresidents.<\/p>\n
\u2018Post-World War II human rights violators are no longer solely state\nactors. International corporations and foreign investments are funding\ngovernment programmes like PSN,\u2019 Aryanang said.<\/p>\n
Strategic Litigation and Law Researcher Syaiful Hidayatullah\nspecifically criticised two new government programmes: the Territorial\nDevelopment Battalion (BTP) and the Red and White Village Cooperatives.\nHe argued that deploying the military for civil functions such as crime,\nagriculture, and livestock management is inappropriate as it blurs the\npolice\u2019s core duties and the TNI\u2019s primary role in safeguarding national\nsovereignty.<\/p>\n
Syaiful added that military-style authoritative officers risk\ninstilling fear in civilian society rather than providing security. He\nalso raised concerns about the TNI\u2019s leading role in the Village\nCooperatives programme, which he believes requires evaluation to\npreserve democratic climate.<\/p>\n
\u2018Military personnel are hard to engage in discussion, they hide\nbehind military law instead of civilian law. Yet it\u2019s odd when they\u2019re\ninvolved in civil affairs but don\u2019t abide by civilian law,\u2019 Syaiful\nconcluded.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/academics-and-researchers-discuss-civil-governance-and-national-development-1780128349", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }