Komnas HAM: Military Training Irrelevant for Cooperative Manager Candidates, Stop It Now
The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has recommended that the government stop military training for prospective managers of the Merah Putih Village/Sub-district Cooperatives (KDKMP) and Merah Putih Fishing Villages (KNMP) programme. Komnas HAM views such training as incompatible with the needs of cooperative managers.
Komnas HAM expressed its condolences to the families of five deceased Sarjana Penggerak Pembangunan Indonesia (SPPI) participants who were undergoing the Basic Military Training (Latsarmil) for the KDMP and KNMP programme. The programme involves at least 35,476 prospective village cooperative managers and 5,476 prospective fishing village managers, who were required to attend Latsarmil for 45 days (14 June – 31 July 2026) across 67 Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) units nationwide.
‘The government should stop the provision of basic military training for prospective KDMP and KNMP cooperative managers, considering that cooperatives are economic institutions oriented towards business management, member services, and organisational governance,’ said Komnas HAM Commissioner Pramono Ubaid Tantowi in a statement on Sunday (28/6/2026).
Komnas HAM stated that capacity building for cooperative managers should focus on strengthening managerial competence, leadership, cooperative governance, and financial literacy. Instead, Latsarmil participants underwent training that included waking at 3.30 a.m. Western Indonesia Time, physical activities, marching drills (PBB), and planned shooting exercises in the third week.
‘Basic military training does not directly support the achievement of these competencies. Moreover, in this case, it has resulted in fatalities during the Latsarmil,’ said Pramono.
Komnas HAM stressed that the deaths of five people within a 10-day period in a single basic military training programme must be taken seriously by the organisers. This is especially concerning as one of the activities involved physical training for civilian participants who were unaccustomed to or lacked experience in physical exercise, or had a low tolerance for strenuous physical activity.
‘This has implications for the risk of disease attacks, which are the life-threatening causes in this basic military training,’ said Pramono.
Pramono reminded that the right to life is the most fundamental right, guaranteed under Article 28A of the 1945 Constitution, Article 9 of Law No. 39 of 1999 on Human Rights, and Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which has been ratified through Law No. 12 of 2005.
Furthermore, the right to health is guaranteed under Article 28H paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution and Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which stipulates the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. Human rights standards oblige the state to actively protect the lives of citizens in its programmes.
‘Komnas HAM urges the government to provide the right to remedy and accountability. This is as guaranteed in Article 2 paragraph (3) of the ICCPR: the state must ensure the availability of effective remedies for victims and their families,’ said Pramono.
Previously, the Ministry of Defence stated that the programme was designed to instil ‘discipline, integrity, and esprit de corps’.
According to official information from the Ministry of Defence as of 27 June 2026, the five deceased victims were Yonanda Mohamad Taufiq, during training at Satdik Puslatpur Kodiklatad Baturaja; Annisa Muyassaroh, during training at Satdik Dodikjur Rindam VI/Mulawarman, Balikpapan; Novia Rahmadhani Sihotang, during training at Satdik Pusbahasa Kodiklatau; Muhammad Rifqi Renaldi, during training at Satdik Yon PARAKO 465; and Nola Diasari, during training at Satdik C Kalimantan. All five were declared to have died due to specific medical conditions, namely heat stroke, cardiac arrest, and tuberculosis.