TNI criticized over antiterror desks policy<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
An order from the military leadership to all 11 regional
\nmilitary commands to set up special counterterrorism desks has
\nbeen criticized by right activists concerned the move could lead
\nto the stifling of government critics.<\/p>\n
People are still traumatized by rights violations during the
\nrepressive New Order regime, Usman Hamid, coordinator of the
\nNational Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of the
\nViolence, said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
He warned that the repression of the New Order was being
\nrevived in the name of \"counterterrorism\".<\/p>\n
Following a series of deadly terrorist attacks in the country,
\nincluding the Oct. 1 bombings in Bali, President Susilo Bambang
\nYudhoyono instructed the Indonesian Military (TNI) to take an
\nactive role in the fight against terrorism.<\/p>\n
That order is now being implemented in the creation of special
\nantiterrorism teams at each of the TNI's 11 regional military
\ncommands -- a move that comes after remarks by TNI chief Gen.
\nEndriartono Sutarto concerning the reactivation of the TNI's much
\ncriticized territorial role.<\/p>\n
During the New Order, the military's territorial role helped
\nformer president Soeharto silence his critics and political
\nopponents.<\/p>\n
Endriartono also ordered the reactivation of the military's
\nintelligence unit at the village level, with the unit comprising
\nnoncommissioned officers, known as Babinsa, who would work within
\ncommunities to help the police fight terrorism.<\/p>\n
He said \"communication between civilians and the intelligence
\ncommunity was severed during the reform years\", which saw the
\ntransfer of domestic security to the police.<\/p>\n
Usman said the revival of the TNI's territorial role was just
\nan excuse for the military's failure to provide security for the
\nstate.<\/p>\n
He said that looking at existing regulations, the role of the
\nTNI and its intelligence units in helping to combat terrorism was
\nclear: to support the police.<\/p>\n
\"There is no need to revive the territorial role (of the
\nTNI),\" he said.<\/p>\n
During her tenure, president Megawati Soekarnoputri issued a
\ndecree on the role of the National Intelligence Agency in
\ncoordinating among all institutions dealing with security issue,
\n\"but as of today, there has never been an evaluation to examine
\nwhether the agency has been able to carry out the job\", Usman
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"There is no reason to say the Indonesian people do not
\nsupport the government's efforts to fight terrorism. What the
\ngovernment has to do is evaluate its own performance, instead of
\nissuing so many controversial policies,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/tni-criticized-over-antiterror-desks-policy-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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