Let TNI do the job, but with restrictions

Let TNI do the job, but with restrictions

Imanuddin Razak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A request for the Indonesian Military (TNI) to take part in
effectively preventing and acting against terrorism in the wake
of the second Bali bomb blast was recently delivered by President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. And TNI Chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto
has responded by suggesting that the Military would restore the
dormant territorial command to deal with the matter.

Quoting a popular proverb, Sekali pedang dihunus, pantang
untuk mundur (Once the sword is unsheathed, it is taboo for a
knight to retreat), it is now rather difficult for the President
to withdraw his statement.

And the only remaining position that the President can take is
to make sure that the mandate he has given to the TNI will not be
abused by this institution.

Susilo's public request on Oct. 5, 2005 for the TNI to get
involved in the government's campaign against terror showed on
one hand his determination to immediately respond to such a
terrorist attack.

On the other hand, however, it also showed the President's
desperation in bringing to an end the series of bombing attacks
that have been hitting the country since the late 1990s. It also
demonstrates the powerlessness of the Indonesian intelligence
community and Police, which are legally responsible for domestic
security affairs, who collectively are still unable to bring the
two top bombing fugitives -- Dr. Azahari Husin and Noordin M. Top
-- to justice.

The President's official statement while addressing the TNI's
60th anniversary was responded to by Endriartono immediately
after the ceremony. Endriartono surprisingly stated that the TNI
would reactivate its territorial command -- from the provincial-
level Regional Military Command (Kodam) to the village-level
unit, known with the term Babinsa -- in order to meet the
President's request.

The territorial command used to be equipped with intelligence
arms, with Babinsa being at the forefront of the system.

The military chief's statement has drawn strong opposition
from various elements in the community, who expressed their fear
of the return to human rights and political abuses by the
military should the command be reinstated. Many, including
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Hidayat Nur Wahid,
suggested that the State should empower the existing intelligence
community and the police to tackle such terrorist attacks, rather
than reestablishing the command.

Questioning the government's policies, especially on strategic
issues involving the lives of the country's over 220 million
population, is a must and guaranteed by al democratic societies.
The question should then be why or what has made the President
turn to the TNI to help the government in its campaign against
terror attacks in the country?

Constitutionally speaking, the authority and responsibility to
deal with domestic security affairs lays with the police. Such
authority is guaranteed by Article 30 of the Constitution and Law
No. 2/2002 on National Police.

It's been three years since the first blasts rocked Bali. But
the police still find it difficult to locate the whereabouts of
Azahari and Noordin, who are believed to be the masterminds
behind the series of bomb attacks in the country over the past
few years, and have only managed to capture the bombers and their
accomplices.

The police's incapacity was admitted by police internal think
tank member, Bambang Widodo, who said in a seminar on security
sector reforms last August that it was impossible for the police
to deal with the terror attacks alone.

The police force indeed has adopted a good structural system
to prevent such terror attacks. However, the system -- known as
koban in Japanese -- which puts police officers on the ground in
neighborhoods -- is still on trial at the Bekasi Police, West
Java. It cannot be expected to perform at such a short notice
while the need for immediate handling of terror attacks is
palpable. It will take the police at least five years to train
its officers and establish koban offices nationwide.

Meanwhile, it is not possible to expect much from the
country's intelligence community either as they lack the
constitutional basis to move and deter any potential terror
attacks. While the intelligence bill is being drafted, expecting
the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) to do its utmost to combat
terrorism, despite the coordinating role it has among the
country's intelligence circles, is also an impossibility.

Now, it is up to the Indonesian people to decide whether to
continue with all the controversies and let the terrorist attacks
continue, or allow the TNI help with the task, but with clear job
specifications, i.e. to curb and deal with the terrorist attacks
only.

After all, it is the President's prerogative to order the TNI
to actively become involved in the matter. Therefore, there
should be a presidential decree that clearly gives a mandate to
the TNI to perform only the designated duty.

And should one day the mandate be abused by the TNI, the whole
nation, most of whom voted for Susilo in last year's election,
can demand accountability from the President as the one who gave
this mandate to the TNI.