'Military's territorial role no longer relevant'

A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The territorial function the Indonesian Military (TNI) has adopted for the past four decades is no longer relevant and should be immediately phased out, a seminar concluded.

Andi Wijayanto from the University of Indonesia and Kusnanto Anggoro from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies said the territorial function violated the reform spirit because it ignored the principles of democracy.

"Democracy requires civilian control over the military. However, under the territorial system the military has the comprehensive ability to impinge on the duties carried out by civilians," Andi told participants of a seminar titled Territorial Command and Indonesian Defense Policy in the Future.

The one-day seminar was sponsored by the Research Institute for Democracy and Peace.

The territorial function materialized in the form of regional military commands across the archipelago, which fall under the auspices of the Army.

Indonesia has 13 military commands, including the newly reinstated one in Aceh, with more than 150,000 personnel.

Each military command has an organizational structure similar to that of a civilian government, spanning from the provincial to the village level.

Observers have called the military territorial commands "a shadow government". The system enabled former president Soeharto's New Order regime to curb any potential challenges, including from prodemocracy activists, and to exert wide-ranging control over every aspect of life.

Andi said the system had numerous ill effects, including abductions and torture committed by territorial arms of the military.

The fall of Soeharto's New Order regime and the resulting reform movement ignited nationwide resistance to the military's territorial function.

Kusnanto said the territorial system suggested that threats to Indonesia came not only from foreign parties, but also from people inside the country.

"In practice, paranoia spread through the military and as a result they perceived protests and other social dynamics as real threats that had to be dealt with completely," he told participants.

In order to put an end to the negative effects of the military's extensive involvement in social and political affairs, the territorial system must be phased out, Kusnanto said.

He said the end of the Cold War meant that the possibility of invasion by a foreign country in the foreseeable future was virtually nil.

"Also, the modern warfare does not require permanent occupation by other countries, since this would be politically expensive and unpopular," he said.

Kusnanto said other parties would need to participate in the gradual elimination of the territorial system.

He also said changes were needed in how decisions regarding the nation's defense policy were made, a process currently dominated by the Indonesian Military.

"It is timely that all parties be involved in the making of defense policy, in order that the implementation of the policy will not violate human rights and democracy," he said.