Amnesty Urges Prabowo to Prove TNI Generals Have Not Violated Human Rights
Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia Usman Hamid has called on President Prabowo Subianto to back up his claim that the Indonesian National Armed Forces is not an institution that routinely violates human rights. In a speech at the inauguration of a free nutritious meal kitchen on Friday, February 13, 2025, Prabowo said that TNI generals have long been accused of being human rights violators. Prabowo denied the accusation and stated that the TNI has never bombed public facilities throughout its history.
According to Usman, the head of state’s words are not strong enough to establish historical facts. “Prabowo’s denial is not sufficient to prove that human rights violations by TNI or police personnel did not occur,” Usman said when contacted on Saturday, February 14, 2026.
Usman said he had prepared a number of arguments to counter the narrative put forward by the former Kopassus commander general. He compiled those arguments in a presentation he delivered as a speaker at a discussion on the politicization of history at Gadjah Mada University’s Faculty of Law on Saturday.
Usman said that under the military justice system, TNI personnel cannot be tried in civilian courts and can always mount a defense. Given the military command structure, he said, the TNI as an institution also cannot be held accountable. If military personnel commit human rights violations under orders from a commander, then that commander should be the one to face punishment.
Usman said that to determine whether an action by a TNI member constitutes a human rights violation, the mechanism of a human rights tribunal must be pursued. “As head of state, Prabowo together with the House of Representatives should establish a mechanism for resolving human rights violations in accordance with Law No. 26 of 2000 on Human Rights Courts,” Usman said.
Such a mechanism would operate through investigations conducted by the National Human Rights Commission. Alternatively, Usman said, Prabowo could order law enforcement to investigate every alleged human rights violation. Only after a human rights court ruling could Prabowo claim whether alleged violations were proven or not.
If these are merely baseless claims, Usman suspects that Prabowo is normalizing past human rights violations. “Prabowo’s statement is merely a form of defense for security and defense personnel who committed human rights violations. This could normalize the human rights violations that occurred,” Usman said.
According to Usman, the proper defense Prabowo should mount is to order the establishment of proper legal mechanisms, including effective investigations with public involvement into all alleged human rights violations committed by TNI personnel.
Furthermore, Usman noted that the TNI has in fact carried out a series of bombings across Indonesian territory linked to human rights violation cases—contrary to what Prabowo stated. Examples include the BCA bombing (1984), bombings in East Timor (1999), church bombings (December 2000), bombings in Papua (2001–2003), and bombings in Aceh (2003–2004).
The 1998 activist also cited a number of TNI generals implicated in alleged human rights violations during the 1998 Reform era, including retired TNI General Wiranto, who at the time served as Defense Minister and Armed Forces Commander, as well as Prabowo Subianto himself, who was then the Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad) chief.
Prabowo had previously said that Indonesia’s police and military institutions are frequently accused of committing human rights violations. He said the attacks and accusations directed at these two security and defense institutions have been ongoing for a long time. “The TNI of old, our greatest and most capable generals, were vilified and accused of being war criminals and human rights violators,” Prabowo said in his speech at the inauguration and groundbreaking of SPPG facilities and a National Police Food Security Warehouse at the Palmerah Police Station in West Jakarta on Friday, February 13, 2026.
He said he disagreed with the characterization of the TNI as human rights violators. According to Prabowo, the military throughout its history has never bombed public facilities. “As far as I know, the TNI has never bombed a hospital. The TNI has never bombed an orphanage, a school, a church, or a mosque,” said the former Kopassus commander.