Susilo says he may look again at TNI bill

Susilo says he may look again at TNI bill

M. Taufiqurrahman and Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

President-in-waiting Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he would study
and possibly review the controversial military bill the House of
Representatives endorsed on the last day of its five-year term on
Thursday.

Susilo, who has emerged as the clear winner of the country's
first ever direct presidential election on Sept. 20, said that he
would scrutinize the bill to determine whether it contradicted
the constitution or military doctrines.

"Since it is my administration that will implement it, I think
I have to study or even review the bill," Susilo told a press
briefing held at his private residence in Cikeas, Bogor, West
Java.

Nine out of the 11 factions in the House agreed to endorse the
bill on Thursday, arguing that the draft law, which has drawn a
great deal of public criticism, would help turn a politically-
conscious military into a professional force devoted solely to
national defense. The bill takes effect one month after the
House's approval, with or without the president's consent.

Susilo, who is expected to be sworn in on Oct. 20 as the
country's sixth president, did not mention any particular
articles or issues that he objected to in the bill. In
presidential debates prior to the first round of the presidential
election on July 5, Susilo only said that he would place the
military under civilian control and try to facilitate increased
TNI professionalism.

The bill, which the House started deliberating on Aug. 23, has
nothing to say about the future of the military's existing
territorial command structure after the law takes affect, saying
only that the physical presence of troops on the ground can be
maintained in areas prone to conflict or incursions by foreign
powers.

Public pressure has mounted for the military to scrap its
territorial command structure, which former president Soeharto
used to coerce the people into supporting his government for more
than three decades.

The government, represented by the Coordinating Ministry for
Political Affairs, the Ministry of Defense and the TNI, have
sought to formally reestablish the military's territorial role,
which was abolished on paper back in 1998.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction,
which ardently opposed the reintroduction of the territorial
role, said that the deployment of troops in troubled areas should
not be parallel to the local government structure.

"The deployment of troops must not give the TNI room to
further its political interests," PDI-P faction spokesperson
Ahmad Basarah told the plenary meeting.

The PDI-P faction demanded that local military establishments,
including Regional Military Commands (Kodam), Resort Military
Commands (Korem) and District Military Commands (Kodim), and the
deployment of soldiers down to the village level, should be
scrapped.

Legislator Hamid Mappa of the Indonesian Nationhood Faction
admitted that the bill contained flaws, but said that the next
House could always amend it.

Despite the flaws, the bill, which was drafted to replace Law
No. 2/1988 on the Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI), still serve to
reduce the military's power.

Article 17 of the bill states the power to deploy troops rests
in the hands of the president acting with the consent of the
House.

Article 18 states that in an emergency, the president may
deploy troops without receiving the go-ahead from the House.
However, this must be notified to the House within two days, and
the troops withdrawn should the House reject their deployment.

The bill also prohibits serving military personnel from
joining political parties, taking part in political activities or
engaging in business activities.

Article 74, for example, states that the government must take
over the commercial assets of the TNI within five years.

According to Article 5 of the bill, if a soldier wishes to
take up civilian office, he must resign from the military.

Meanwhile, serving soldiers are only allowed to take up
civilian in defense and security-related institutions, and must
comply with the rules of the institution concerned.

To prevent one force having supremacy over another in the
military, Article 13 of the bill stipulates that the post of
military chief may be rotated among senior officers or the
commanders of the Indonesian Army, Navy and Air force.