Jakarta must double police to tackle threats: ICG<\/p>\n
Dan Eaton, Reuters\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesia needs to double the size of its police force and give
\nthe military a clearer role if it hopes to cope with a multitude
\nof security threats from terrorists to ethnic conflict, a report
\nsaid on Monday.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's 280,000-strong police force lacks the capacity to
\ntackle the threats facing the world's most populous Muslim
\nnation, the respected Brussels-based International Crisis Group
\n(ICG) said.<\/p>\n
The report came as the country moved to a heightened state of
\nalert, with extra police guards placed at hotels, churches and
\nother meeting places, following warnings that Muslim militants
\nwere planning attacks over the Christmas and New Year period.<\/p>\n
\"The force needs to be doubled and its performance markedly
\nimproved before the military can be confined to external defense,
\nthe ultimate goal of most reformers,\" said the study entitled
\n\"Indonesia: Internal Security Strategy\".<\/p>\n
Indonesia has been hit by separatist and communal violence in
\nrecent years, as well as a series of bloody militant bombings.
\nThe Bali nightclub blasts two years ago killed 202 people, most
\nof them foreign tourists.<\/p>\n
The report, which included interviews with officers conducted
\nbetween May and June this year, said a \"transition role\" needed
\nto be defined for the military, particularly given \"gray areas\"
\nof responsibility, such as counter-terrorism, counter-insurgency
\nand outbreaks of serious violence.<\/p>\n
In a vast archipelago with a population of more than 220
\nmillion people, Indonesia's total police force of some 280,000
\nofficers represented a ratio of 1:810, compared with a generally
\naccepted desirable ratio of 1:400, the report said.<\/p>\n
The police only separated from the military in 1999 following
\nthe downfall of strongman Soeharto, who used the army extensively
\nto quash dissent during his 32 years in power.<\/p>\n
The report urged donor nations to increase technical and
\nfinancial support to the police while finding ways to re-engage
\nwith the Indonesian armed forces, tainted by allegations of human
\nrights abuses and of acting with impunity in restive regions.<\/p>\n
Australia and the United States have recently started to re-
\nengage with Indonesia's military after a breakdown in relations
\nfollowing the violence surrounding East Timor's vote for
\nindependence in 1999.<\/p>\n
Recent examples of assistance to the police include setting up
\na special anti-terror force last year called \"Detachment 88\", a
\nunit of 400 officers trained by agencies such as the U.S. Secret
\nService and the CIA.<\/p>\n
The ICG called on newly elected President Susilo Bambang
\nYudhoyono, an ex-army general, to conduct a review of security
\npolicy and affirm the primary role of the police in safeguarding
\ninternal security.<\/p>",
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