BIN's potential overlap with Army commands queried
Muninggar Sri Saraswati and Sandy Darmosumarto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
An activist with a rights watchdog, which had reported in December that the national intelligence body was already beginning activities at the district level, questioned a potential overlapping of functions with the military's territorial commands.
"I am afraid Indonesia will turn into a police state. People would be monitored by many intelligence bodies," Munir of Imparsial said on Friday. The territorial commands of the Indonesian Military (TNI) also have intelligence functions.
In December, Imparsial had warned that BIN had started expanding its powers to the district level across the country.
Imparsial had noted that BIN had recruited officials at regional administrations to support its operations in Bitung and West Java, based on reports from its network.
"We fear that the move will turn public servants into agents who meddle in social and political life," Munir said.
On Wednesday, State Minister for Administrative Reforms Feisal Tamin disclosed the plan to allow BIN to open offices in all provinces, regencies and municipalities across the country.
He said that the plan would be supported by a presidential decree. According to Tamin, each of BIN's representative offices would be under the auspices of both BIN headquarters and the regional administration.
However, Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that the plan had to first secure approval from the Cabinet.
Last month West Java Governor R. Nuriana said the provincial intelligence coordination body (Bakorinda) would be revived pending directions from Jakarta. He said it was important given the weakness in early detection, for instance, of terrorist activities.
The lack of coordination among state intelligence agencies has been criticized following the Oct. 12 Bali bombing that killed 202 people.
Following the Bali bombing President Megawati Soekarnoputri appointed BIN as the sole coordinator for all intelligence activities in the country.
On Friday Hermawan Sulistyo of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) said that BIN should instead "improve its coordination and the quality of their intelligence officers" as its main obligation is to prevent high-profile crimes, such as terrorist attacks.
"As coordinator, BIN must be able to guarantee that intelligence officers from the National Police and the Indonesian Military always report their findings to them," Hermawan said.
He warned that the plan to expand BIN would lead to state interference in civilian life and would be prone to abuse.
"Officers could blackmail people or seek to put their "enemies" in jail," Hermawan said, citing the 2003 antiterrorism law which allows intelligence officers to arrest suspected terrorists.
Prior to BIN, the New Order government set up the National Coordinating Intelligence Agency (Bakin) to detect possible spread of communism. It was later revamped by former president Abdurrahman Wahid and renamed BIN.
Police said the expansion of BIN was not a problem. "The more information we receive the better ... Other institutions besides the police also possess intelligence units. There is a mutual exchange of information," said National Police deputy spokesman, Brig. Gen. Soenarko.