Civil Society Coalition Urges President and Parliament to Revoke Military Alert Order
A Civil Society Coalition for Security Sector Reform has urged the President and the House of Representatives to revoke a telegram from TNI Commander General Agus Subiyanto ordering his ranks into alert status 1 amid escalating conflict dynamics in the Middle East.
The coalition comprises Imparsial, YLBHI, KontraS, Amnesty International Indonesia, Human Rights Working Group, WALHI, Centra Initiative, ICW, LBH Jakarta and SETARA Institute.
“The coalition urges the President and House of Representatives to evaluate and revoke the telegram because it is inconsistent with the constitution and there is no urgency for it,” the coalition stated in a statement on Monday, 9 March.
The coalition stated that Prabowo could not remain silent on the matter. They believe that if Prabowo allows it, it can be said politically that he is deliberately allowing this to occur for the political interests of the regime in dealing with groups critical of its power.
“Given that recently the President’s actions have received much criticism and rejection from the public, this means the government is using politics of fear on society if the President does not revoke this telegram,” they said.
The coalition assessed that the telegram is also inconsistent with the Constitution, as the deployment of military force should be in the hands of the President, not the TNI Commander.
They cited Article 10 of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, which states that the President holds the highest authority over the army, navy and air force.
They also pointed to Article 17 of Law No. 34 of 2004 concerning the TNI, which affirms that authority for deploying TNI forces rests with the President.
“Assessment of developments in the national situation and evolving geopolitical dynamics, as well as TNI deployment, should be carried out by the President and House of Representatives as representatives of the people. Thus, the TNI Commander cannot and must not make an assessment of the existing situation,” the coalition stated.
TNI Commander General Agus Subiyanto ordered his ranks into alert status 1 and to prepare anticipatory measures in response to developments arising from the Middle Eastern conflict.
The TNI Commander’s telegram No. TR/283/2026, signed by the TNI Commander’s Operations Assistant Lieutenant General Bobby Rinal Makmun on 1 March 2026, contained seven instructions for the ranks to begin alert with preparation of a number of strategic measures domestically should escalation from the Iran-US-Israel conflict persist.