Myriad problems mar TNI relations with the police

Myriad problems mar TNI relations with the police

Lela E. Madjiah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Army Chief Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu must be feeling miserable of
late. On Wednesday, he publicly discharged 20 members of the
Medan-based Airborne 100th Battalion for attacking a Brimob
police station in Binjai on Sunday evening, sparking off a
gunbattle that lasted for nine hours and left at least 8 dead and
dozens wounded.

Only last year Ryamizard, then chief of the Army's Strategic
Reserve Command (Kostrad), discharged 20 members of Kostrad's
Infantry Battalion 501 for involvement in a gunfight with police
officers in Madiun, East Java. Two civilians were shot dead and
15 others were injured during last year's fierce clash that
occurred on Sept. 16, 2001.

The incidents in Binjai and Madiun are a repeat of similar
clashes across the country, triggered by rivalries between the
military and police. In fact, the rivalry between the two
services has increased since their official separation on July 1,
2000 and has already led to violent incidents across the country.
There were 79 reported military-police clashes throughout 2000,
during which six were killed, 70 seriously wounded and another 76
slightly wounded. The number of clashes decreased to 52 in 2001,
during which left three dead, 39 seriously injured and 31
slightly wounded.

The number of incidents further declined during the period of
January to August this year, with 23 cases reported, or a
decrease by around 35 percent compared to the previous year. The
Binjai incident, however, is the bloodiest single clash so far.

More incidents are bound to occur if the TNI fails to address
the root problems. There are at least three main issues to deal
with to prevent recurring incidents.

* Salaries. Members of the military are engaged in various
illegal business activities due to low salaries. Troops get Rp
798,000 a month. The amount includes Rp 7,500 in daily meal
allowance and that means the basic salary of a soldier is
Rp 573,000 (US$63) a month, slightly lower than workers' minimum
wage of around Rp 600,000 for Greater Jakarta. By law, servicemen
are prohibited from conducting business activities. However, the
TNI, as an institution, seems less than willing to put a stop to
such businesses because of its inability to adequately provide
for its members. Worse, many are engaged in operating illegal
business or providing protection for them which often includes
gambling operations, illegal logging, smuggling, drug dealing and
even weapons sales.

The police, too, face similar problems and it is in big cities
like Medan that clashes over income sources between members of
the two forces are imminent. As long as salaries remain poor,
soldiers and policemen here will resort to side businesses to
enrich themselves and to "keep up with the Joneses". The battle
over business operations will therefore continue.

* Legal and organizational problems. Law No. 2/2002 on the
National Police was another blow to the TNI after the painful
separation of the two forces. The law, dubbed a "super power"
law, has further sidelined the military, which had been stripped
of its powerful socio-political role.

The police's new-found power has resulted in what many in the
military described as a euphoria and has led to questionable
decisions, such as the training of the police mobile brigade as
counterinsurgency troops and the purchase of M-16 firearms. This
seems to run against the spirit of the separation of the two
forces, which was triggered by, among other things, concerns that
the police were too militarized.

Unfortunately, the new-found power has not been matched with
adequate personnel and capabilities. Prof. Satjipto Rahardjo,
founder of the Police Study Center at Diponegoro University in
Semarang, said it would take at least three generations before
Indonesia could have an ideal police force.

The law also overlaps with Law No. 3/2002 on the Indonesian
Military. According to Law No. 2, the police have the right to
ask for military assistance in dealing with conflicts, while Law
No. 3 stipulates that the military has the authority to declare a
state of emergency or a state of war to deal with a conflict.

The government has yet to issue a regulation that serves as a
clear guideline for both forces to avoid clashes, particularly on
the operational level.

Gen. Endriartono Sutarto raised the issue when he was still
Army chief of staff. He said the lack of clear guidelines in
regard to the roles of the police and the military in conflict
handling had resulted in prolonged conflicts in various parts of
the country due to the inability of both forces to solve them.

It is imperative that the government issue a regulation that
will provide a clear guideline on the role of the military and
police in internal security.

* Cultural problem. The separation of the police from the
military was a blow to the latter, for a number of reasons. For
decades, the police had been treated as the "younger brother" and
were treated as an inferior force by their military colleagues.

The separation was also considered by many in the military as
an effort to create division between the two forces. History has
shown that the police and the military were united in their
defense of the republic and their separation was seen as a move
to weaken the country's unity.

Members of the military, as well as the police, are finding it
difficult to adjust to the police's new role. As of July 1, 2001,
the police are under direct presidential authority. This places
the police on par with the military. The "big brother" is now
legally, at least, on the same level as their younger brothers.
This change has resulted in a culture shock of sorts. Soldiers,
who used to feel superior, now find it offensive for a policeman
to ticket them for violating a traffic regulation.

"They (the soldiers) are wrong for committing the traffic
regulations, but they cannot accept being reprimanded by a
policeman, which is also wrong of them," said former Army deputy
chief Lt. Gen. (ret.) Kiki Syahnakri,

The above three factors need serious attention if the TNI is
determined to improve its conduct. Good conduct yields good
publicity and good public relations.