Jakarta must double police to tackle threats: ICG
Jakarta must double police to tackle threats: ICG
Dan Eaton, Reuters/Jakarta
Indonesia needs to double the size of its police force and give
the military a clearer role if it hopes to cope with a multitude
of security threats from terrorists to ethnic conflict, a report
said on Monday.
Indonesia's 280,000-strong police force lacks the capacity to
tackle the threats facing the world's most populous Muslim
nation, the respected Brussels-based International Crisis Group
(ICG) said.
The report came as the country moved to a heightened state of
alert, with extra police guards placed at hotels, churches and
other meeting places, following warnings that Muslim militants
were planning attacks over the Christmas and New Year period.
"The force needs to be doubled and its performance markedly
improved before the military can be confined to external defense,
the ultimate goal of most reformers," said the study entitled
"Indonesia: Internal Security Strategy".
Indonesia has been hit by separatist and communal violence in
recent years, as well as a series of bloody militant bombings.
The Bali nightclub blasts two years ago killed 202 people, most
of them foreign tourists.
The report, which included interviews with officers conducted
between May and June this year, said a "transition role" needed
to be defined for the military, particularly given "gray areas"
of responsibility, such as counter-terrorism, counter-insurgency
and outbreaks of serious violence.
In a vast archipelago with a population of more than 220
million people, Indonesia's total police force of some 280,000
officers represented a ratio of 1:810, compared with a generally
accepted desirable ratio of 1:400, the report said.
The police only separated from the military in 1999 following
the downfall of strongman Soeharto, who used the army extensively
to quash dissent during his 32 years in power.
The report urged donor nations to increase technical and
financial support to the police while finding ways to re-engage
with the Indonesian armed forces, tainted by allegations of human
rights abuses and of acting with impunity in restive regions.
Australia and the United States have recently started to re-
engage with Indonesia's military after a breakdown in relations
following the violence surrounding East Timor's vote for
independence in 1999.
Recent examples of assistance to the police include setting up
a special anti-terror force last year called "Detachment 88", a
unit of 400 officers trained by agencies such as the U.S. Secret
Service and the CIA.
The ICG called on newly elected President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono, an ex-army general, to conduct a review of security
policy and affirm the primary role of the police in safeguarding
internal security.