Military-police clash<\/p>\n
The separation in 1999 of the police from the Indonesian
\nDefense Force (TNI), previously known as the Indonesian Armed
\nForces (ABRI), was one of the fruits of the reform government.<\/p>\n
The reform, of course, has a far-reaching objective, which is
\nto create a democratic nation by restructuring the Indonesian
\nArmed Forces.<\/p>\n
In the spirit of reform, the People's Consultative Assembly
\nissued MPR Decree No VI\/2000 and MPR Decree No VII\/2000.<\/p>\n
The first decree stated that the police should be separated
\nfrom the TNI, and the second one stated that the police and the
\nTNI have to be neutral and should never get themselves involved
\nin practical politics.<\/p>\n
Since then however, there have been clashes between the police
\nand TNI in several areas in the country.<\/p>\n
Seven people were killed in a nine-hour shootout in September
\n2002 between the army and the police in the Indonesian province
\nof North Sumatra, while a soldier and a policemen were injured in
\na similar incident in South Sulawesi last Dec 4.<\/p>\n
The latest gun battle between troops and police, in which a
\nsoldier was shot dead and two people were wounded, was sparked by
\na traffic accident in the town of Mempawah in West Kalimantan
\nprovince on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Is there any relation between the conflicts and the MPR
\ndecrees?<\/p>\n
The answer is, not on the level of political decision but
\nmerely in the field.<\/p>\n
In the field, the police is more independent from the TNI and
\nmore superior, while the power of the TNI is declining.<\/p>\n
The decline and the increase in power of civilians are
\nregarded to be the source of the conflicts between the police and
\nthe TNI.<\/p>\n
-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/military-police-clash-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }