Bill drafters reject a return to power by TNI

Bill drafters reject a return to power by TNI

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Civilian experts who helped draft the military bill have said
they never proposed an article which would empower the armed
forces at the expense of democracy.

Therefore, they insisted that the article be scrapped on the
ground that it would pave the way for the military's return to
the political arena.

Speaking at a joint press conference on Monday, Ikrar Nusa
Bhakti from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Rizal
Sukma and Kusnanto Anggoro from the Centre for Strategic and
International Studies (CSIS), and rights activist Munir said the
Indonesian Military (TNI) had no reason to defend the article.

The controversial article, Article 19, authorizes the TNI
commander to deploy troops during a state of emergency without
prior approval from the president.

TNI has said such authority was badly needed to protect the
country from chaos, but the experts challenged their argument.

"Efforts to curb social riots or to restore situation in the
event of a natural disaster are not part of TNI's defense role.

"Even if there was an argument that the article is necessary
to justify the military's preemptive action when the country is
facing a sudden foreign attack, the article is not relevant
because the military has already been tasked with such duties,"
the experts said in a joint statement.

Present at the press conference to support the civilian
drafters, were, among others, noted lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis,
Syamsuddin Harris from LIPI, Edi Prasetyono from CSIS, Chusnul
Mariyah of the General Election Commission (KPU) and political
analyst Fadjrul Falaakh of Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada
University.

The team of four criticized an earlier remark by TNI Commander
Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, who insisted on defending Article 19 of
the bill. He promised TNI would "only exercise the power if the
president, vice president or a triumvirate of the home minister,
the foreign affairs and defense minister were not available."

The bill, if approved, will contradict various legislations in
the country, including the amended 1945 Constitution, the 1959
Emergency Law and Law No. 3/2002 on state defense, which clearly
stipulate that the president, as the Supreme Commander of the
Indonesian military, has the sole authority and responsibility to
deploy TNI troops after securing approval from the House of
Representatives.

Kusnanto, Ikrar and Rizal were part of the government's
civilian team involved in the drafting of the military bill,
which began in April last year, but which they failed to complete
due to several controversial articles.

Sources said that Article 19 had been inserted by the TNI team
late in October last year, days after Army Chief Gen. Ryamizard
Ryacudu said that the Bali bombings on Oct. 12, 2002 had happened
"due to the TNI's weak territorial role".

The bill, drafted by the military-dominated Ministry of
Defense, is now with State Secretary Bambang Kesowo for President
Megawati Soekarnoputri to sign before it is submitted to the
House for deliberation.

The article has sparked criticism because the military had
abused its power during the 32-year New Order regime.

Despite the mounting objections, leaders of the country's
major parties -- the Golkar Party and the National Mandate Party
(PAN) -- have voiced support for the bill, arguing that it was
reasonable for the military to take extra-constitutional measures
in the event of an emergency.

Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
Perjuangan) responded to the polemic cautiously.

PDI Perjuangan deputy secretary Pramono Anung told The Jakarta
Post that the party would respond to the issue, pending a
clarification from TNI about the kind of emergency situation that
could prompt it to take preemptive measures.