Civilian govt should oversee TNI, Police: Analyst

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Instead of placing them under the president, the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police should be put under separate ministries to avoid being used by the incumbent president to defend his or her regime, an analyst says.

Military analyst Salim Said told a seminar here on Wednesday that the military should be put under the defense ministry while the police under a domestic security ministry which could be set up later.

"There is also a need to establish a national security council tasked to give the president input on security issues," he told a seminar on the role of the military and police in national security here on Wednesday.

Currently, the National Police are directly responsible to the president, raising fears that the incumbent president would use the police force to maintain his or her power.

The TNI, on the other hand, is very much left to its own devices, with its chief commander enjoying a position equal to a ministerial post.

Both the TNI and police chiefs attend Cabinet meetings, which mostly discuss government policy, not defense issues.

Also speaking in the seminar organized by the Constitutional Commission were TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, and secretary-general of the National Resilience Council (Wantannas) Budi Santoso.

Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar was also invited but did not attend. He was represented by Police Staff College (PTIK) Governor Insp. Gen. Farouk Muhammad.

In his keynote speech, the People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais said that the Constitution must stipulate the separation between the military and the police.

"The Constitution must ensure that the military and the police are subordinate to the civilian government," Amien said.

Salim emphasized that placing the military and police under the president was not in line with reform ideals.

Gen. Endriartono, meanwhile, acknowledged that activities of the military in defending national unity could be misused to defend a regime.

"Consequently, the policy to defend national or territorial integrity often contradicts efforts to protect citizens," he said without elaborating.

Endriartono added that the separation of the military and the police as set out in Article 30 of the amended Constitution had caused new problems.

He also suggested that the government set up a new state agency to help the incumbent president in handling national security affairs.

The seminar organized by the Constitutional Commission was part of the commission's programs in synchronizing constitutional amendments, which analysts have said reflect short-term political interests.

The commission is expected to have reported its final work to the Assembly on May 6, however it had finished only six articles three weeks ahead of the deadline.