Positive side of controversial TNI territorial structure

Positive side of controversial TNI territorial structure

ID Nugroho and Nethy Dharma Somba, Surabaya/Jayapura

Over the last few years, the road in Benjeng district, Gresik
regency, has changed markedly. The entire road has now been
paved, so it is no longer muddy in the rainy season and dusty in
the dry season.

"This is the fruit of the Indonesian Armed Force's (ABRI)
Village Entrance program executed by the Brawijaya military
command," said Rachmad, a resident in the district, adding that
the better road had helped the economy in the district.

The Brawijaya military command oversees East Java province.

In the program, which began several years ago, the personnel
of ABRI, now known as the Indonesian military (TNI), not only
paved the road, but they also built an entrance gate to the
district. "They worked hand-in-hand with the local residents,"
said Rachmad.

Similarly, the Indonesian military has also contributed to the
life of Indonesian people living in far away Papua province.

Besides monitoring the border with neighboring Papua New
Guinea, some of the 1,800 TNI personnel along the border also
have other tasks. Some of the soldiers -- who come from various
military commands nationwide -- are tasked with providing health
services for local residents living along the border and teaching
children.

Lt. Col. Damar T. Santoso, the chief of Tamalate battalion
overseeing Keerom regency in Papua, said that his soldiers were
deployed in 23 outposts across the regency, seven of which can
only be reached by plane.

"In those remote posts, which are beyond the reach of local
government services, our personnel teach or provide medical
services to locals," said Damar. Out of 450 personnel in the
battalion, 32 have the responsibility of helping local residents.

Those East Java and Papua examples are merely two among many
examples of how the presence of the TNI throughout the country --
all the way down to the hamlet level, under its territorial
command structure -- can intervene positively in the lives of
local villagers.

Such stories are rarely mentioned, amid strong demands by
prodemocracy activists to relegate the territorial function to
the dustbin of history. The activists argue that such a
pervasive presence by the military undermines democracy.

Some students admitted, however, that the territorial function
-- with its provincial military commands, the regency military
commands and the district military commands -- could be very
useful for people, but it was prone to abuse. There are numerous
examples of some blatant abuse.

During the Soeharto era, military intelligence agents at the
district military headquarters often spied on meetings held among
students, which could often end up in their arrest, and thus
undermined the freedoms of expression and association. It was
also an open secret that the military men often colluded with
local businessmen against their workers, and often intimidated
the workers during a dispute or strike.

Students grouped under the Democratic National Student League
(LMND) in Surabaya, said that the territorial function could also
lead to abuse by the TNI personnel in politics. "The tentacles of
those TNI bureaucrats in the regions could be mobilized to
support a political party, an institution that is supposed to be
neutral," said Siswanto, a spokesperson for LMND.

"I am amazed. How could this new party (Democratic Party)
garner so many votes in East Java," said Siswanto, who suspected
that the TNI played a role in supporting that party, which was
cofounded by Gen. (ret) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

In this light, prodemocracy activists are now working on the
House of Representatives (DPR) to get legislators to scrap the
TNI's territorial function. A bill is currently being deliberated
upon by the lameduck legislators of the DPR on that very subject.

The spokesman for the Brawijaya military command, Lt. Col.
Bambang Sulistyono, defended the territorial command structure,
saying that it could make the TNI "closer" to people and
therefore better able to repel attacks from the foreign armies.

"If the TNI is close to people, that can be a powerful force.
If there is an enemy attacking the country, the TNI will easily
unite the people to defeat them," he argued.

Bambang added: "Have no fear that the TNI will manipulate the
territorial function for our own benefit. The recent instruction
from the chief commander of the TNI is very clear: The TNI is not
allowed to get involved in politics."