Politicians slam plan for TNI
Tb. Arie Rukmantara, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Indonesian Military's (TNI) plan to reactivate its territorial command drew strong criticism from the country's top politicians on Thursday as they claimed the move would pave the way for the military's involvement in politics.
"Reviving the territorial command is the wrong medicine for the disease we are dealing with. The move is only a tool to revive militarism. We should oppose that kind of intention as early as possible," said former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid on Thursday in a press conference held at headquarters of the country's largest Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) in Jakarta.
TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said on Wednesday that he would take the necessary measures to crack down on terrorist attacks in the country by reactivating the military's territorial command. He announced the plan after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, speaking at the 60th anniversary of the TNI, urged the military to take an active role in the fight against terrorism following the recent bomb blasts in Bali, which killed 22 people.
The territorial function covers the regional level, handled by the Regional Military Command (Kodam) to the village level, handled by non-commissioned officers assigned to villages and subdistricts.
Gus Dur said he doubted that the move would be an effective means to stop terrorists from taking action in the country.
"Who can guarantee that reviving it will make the country any safer? I don't think so. What is certain is that it will bring the country back to an authoritarian state," he said, adding that the military should only focus on defense issues and let internal security issues be handled by the police.
Speaking along the same lines, Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Hidayat Nur Wahid said the move was inappropriate because the military should only support the National Police and National Intelligence Agency (BIN) in fighting terrorism, not take over the job.
"The function of the police and BIN should first be maximized. Therefore, I question the purpose of reviving the territorial command. If the military wants to support the National Police, then support its intelligence system," he said.
He feared that the plan would create conflict between the military and police officers as well as BIN's intelligence officers in the field.
"I'm afraid there could be a conflict over who has the authority to take important decisions. As we have seen, conflicts often happen between police and military officers because of the blurred division of authority," he said.
A political observer from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, J. Kristiadi, said that the move was a violation of Law No. 34/2004 on the military, which stipulates that the TNI territorial function shall be eliminated within five years after the law is issued.
"Reviving the territorial command is against the law," he said, adding that the military should only be involved in security matters if the police ask for their help.
Meanwhile, former deputy chief of staff of the Army Lt. Gen. Kiki Syahnakrie said that the only short term solution to fighting terrorism was by reviving the territorial command of the TNI.
He cited that one of the successes of the territorial command's function was the immediate solving of the Borobudur temple bombing case in 1985.
"Why was it safer during the New Order government? Because at that time, the territorial function was stronger and was supported by the anti-subversion law, which was revoked at the beginning of the reform era," he told Antara.