Officers could be tried in civil court under a new bill
Officers could be tried in civil court under a new bill
YOGYAKARTA (JP): Minister of Defense Mahfud M.D. said his
ministry in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice and Human
Rights and the Attorney General's Office is currently drafting a
bill to enable military personnel to be tried under a civil court
if they are indicted for violating civil laws.
Mahfud said the plan was in line with People's Consultative
Assembly Decree No. 7/2000 on the Role of the Military and the
National Police, which underlines the necessity for soldiers to
answer to a civil court if they commit civil crimes.
"The decree stipulates that civil crimes committed by military
personnel should be tried in civil court, not in a military
court," he told reporters here.
Once the bill is passed by the House of Representatives the
military court would only have to deal with cases occurring on
military bases or related to military operations, such as
desertion.
"The police, the military auditor and the Attorney General's
Office will handle any civil crimes by military personnel," he
explained.
Mahfud highlighted the importance of the police and the
Attorney General's Office in being prepared to probe crimes
committed by members of the military, something rarely done.
"Past failures to investigate made many criminal cases
involving military personnel just fade away," he said.
Nevertheless, Mahfud called on the public not to admonish the
Indonesian Military (TNI) despite its past record, often held in
poor regard due to numerous alleged criminal and rights
violations.
"I agree that we should take any military personnel committing
civil violations before a civil court, but we should not ruin TNI
as an institution".
"We need a strong military institution to protect us from the
threat of disintegration," Mahfud said.
He said there were groups of people and non-governmental
organizations which unceasingly and sometimes unnecessarily
condemn TNI.
Without elaborating Mahfud suggested they might be part of a
conspiracy to destroy Indonesia.
"Imagine Indonesia without TNI for just two hours. I'm sure
the country would be torn to pieces," he said.
Mahfud remarked that similar strategies of undermining the
military institution had been effected in certain big countries
by other countries without undertaking a frontal war, such as the
case in Russia and Yugoslavia.
"They were destroyed without waging war as the people were
provoked to attack their own military institution," he said.
"We should all be aware of this. We have come to an analysis
that we may be heading in such a direction," he said, while
noting that growing public demands for independence in Aceh and
Irian Jaya were embraced by certain foreign parties.(swa/lup)