Military should listen to bill critics: Minister

Military should listen to bill critics: Minister

Muninggar Sri Saraswati and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta

In an apparent attempt to end the prolonged debate on the
controversial military bill, Coordinating Minister for Political
and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told the Indonesian
Military (TNI) on Thursday to listen to criticism of the bill.

Underlining the utmost importance of laws governing the
military's role, the top security minister said the bill must not
give any chance for TNI commanders to abuse their powers.

"The bill must stipulate fixed criteria on an emergency
situation that allows the military leadership to deploy personnel
and that the mobilization is not aimed at toppling an elected
government," he said after attending a cabinet meeting presided
over by President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Thursday.

Susilo was referring to Article 19 of the bill, allowing the
TNI to mobilize soldiers in an emergency without the approval of
the president. The most controversial article has sparked strong
criticism from numerous sides who say it could be abused to
launch a coup against a legitimate government and jeopardize the
democracy the nation was trying to develop.

"Both the TNI and its critics should listen to each other
during deliberations of the bill, so it will not create
misinterpretations," the minister said.

Defense Minister Matori Abdul Djalil has promised to review
the draft law before it is submitted to the House of
Representatives, but Army chief Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu rejected
the views of the critics, saying they disliked the military.

Analysts believe the article is against the 1945 Constitution
that appointed the president as the supreme commander of the
military force. They said that according to Law No. 3/2002 on
state defense, only the president had the authority to deploy
military personnel both at home and overseas (for peace
missions).

Susilo further stressed that the TNI should bear in mind that
it was part of state apparatus and besides, there was a
triumvirate consisting of the defense minister, foreign minister
and home minister to take decisions in an emergency if the
president was out of reach.

That was why the criteria for the emergency situation and what
action could be taken by the military leadership should be
inserted in the bill, he said.

Separately, Ikrar Nusa Bhakti, a political observer from the
Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) concurred and said that
the TNI had to listen to public opinion on the bill.

"The military must be given authority to handle state security
but it should not create political problems in the future," he
said during a discussion on 68H news radio on Thursday.

Ikrar said that article 19 of the bill must be changed as it
could be interpreted in many ways and opened the chance for the
TNI to abuse its authority.

Isaac Latuconsina, deputy chairman of the House's Commission I
on defense and security, shared Ikrar's view, saying "all
contentious articles could be reviewed during its deliberation by
the legislative body."