Politicians slam plan for TNI

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.