Analysts cautious over military's role in security<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Despite support for the proposed review of the tasks and
\nauthority given to the military and police in the amended 1945
\nConstitution, political analysts remained cautious about the
\nmilitary's domestic security role, saying it should be under
\ncivilian leadership.<\/p>\n
Daniel Sparringa of Airlangga University in Surabaya and Yahya
\nMuhaimin from Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta called on all
\nsides not to oversimplify the terminologies \"defense\" and
\n\"security\" stipulated by the Constitution.<\/p>\n
Both were of the same opinion that the military's tasks should
\nnot be limited only to defense of the country from outside
\nthreats, because there were certain problems like armed conflicts
\nand security disturbances that could not be handled by the police
\nand thus should be entrusted to the military.<\/p>\n
Sparringa and Yahwa was commenting on the White Paper recently
\npublished by the Ministry of Defense outlining a long-term policy
\nthat included an active role in domestic security matters for the
\nmilitary as well as defending the military's territorial function
\n-- wherein it maintains active posts throughout the country all
\nthe way down to the village level.<\/p>\n
\"In several countries including Malaysia and the U.S., what
\nare called \"national security matters\" including large riots and
\nseparatist movements are jointly handled by the military and the
\npolice. However, the decision to use arms and deploy military
\nforces in handling such problems are determined by the civilian
\ngovernment,\" Sparringa, adding that the deployment of military
\npersonnel could be implemented with the declaration of a state of
\nemergency.<\/p>\n
MPR Decree No. 6\/2000 stipulates that both the Indonesian
\nMilitary (TNI) comprising the Army, Navy and Air Force, and the
\nNational Police are separate entities while MPR Decree No. 7\/2000
\nregulates that the TNI's main function is defense from outside
\nthreats and the National Police is in charge of domestic security
\nmatters.<\/p>\n
Pressure has been mounting for a review of the two decrees
\nfollowing the police's perceived failure, to some extent, in
\ndealing with the armed conflicts in Aceh, Papua, Central Sulawesi
\nand Maluku over the last three years.<\/p>\n
The armed conflicts in those provinces have not yet been
\ncompletely resolved, indeed the government is reportedly
\npreparing a new military offensive in Aceh while the ongoing
\noperation to restore security and public order in Maluku has been
\nentrusted to the military.<\/p>\n
The two analysts however, called on all sides to bear in mind
\nthe historical background of why the two decrees were decided
\nupon by the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) with the aim of
\ngiving both the military and the police their own tasks and
\nincreasing professionalism in accordance with the democratic
\nreforms that were promised to the electorate in the 1999
\nelections.<\/p>\n
Since the downfall of repressive former president Soeharto,
\nthe military has been roundly criticized for its actions during
\nthe 32-year New Order era.<\/p>\n
In addition to the inclusion of the police in the then
\nIndonesian armed forces (ABRI), the military also was officially
\ngranted the dual function status for defense and politics. It
\nalso established numerous institutions such as the coordinating
\nboard for maintenance of national stability (Bakorstanas) and the
\nsocio-political affairs organization that were designed to quell
\nany opposition groups.<\/p>\n
The military, mostly the Army, dominated strategic positions
\nin the government from the regency level to the president, and
\nalso set up many business conglomerates in numerous sectors to
\nsupport its budget.<\/p>\n
The military has so far also maintained its much-criticized
\nterritorial function which has been regularly used to, among
\nother activities for which it has drawn criticism, \"persuade\" the
\npeople to support the Golkar political party, the ruling party
\nfor 32 years.<\/p>\n
Since the 1998 democracy reform movement to some extent,
\nbrought down the New Order, the military and the police were
\nreturned to their original functions in a bid to increase
\nprofessionalism and support the creation of a civil society.<\/p>\n
The separation between the police and the military has had
\nsome negative consequences, mostly to do with an unclear
\nunderstanding of the limits of authority under the new decrees.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/analysts-cautious-over-militarys-role-in-security-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}