Time running out for TNI bill deliberation

Time running out for TNI bill deliberation

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

With only four days to go before the House of Representatives
ends its five-year term at the end of this month, it appears most
likely that it will be unable to finish deliberating the
controversial Indonesian Military (TNI) bill.

The House is scheduled to end its term when the members
elected in the April 5 legislative elections are sworn in on Oct.
1, 2004.

Ad interim coordinating minister for political and security
affairs Hari Sabarno said on Saturday that the failure to
complete the deliberations on the crucial bill would have no
serious effect on the military.

"There will be no serious impact. Everything will proceed
normally. We can still refer to the current law," he told
journalists on the sidelines of the People's Consultative
Assembly (MPR)'s final session.

The minister, however, said he still hoped the current House
could finish the TNI bill before the end of its term.

Whether or not the current House and government would be able
finish the bill depended on their ability to achieve a consensus,
Hari added.

According to Hari, there were 373 items that had yet to be
discussed, with some of them being controversial.

The most crucial contentious issues in the bill include the
TNI's position vis-a-vis the state administration -- whether it
should be under the direct control of the president or the
Ministry of Defense.

The future of the TNI's territorial role, which human rights
groups oppose, and the retirement age for military officers, are
also among the contentious issues.

Separately on Saturday, lawmaker Permadi, who has been deeply
involved in the deliberation of the TNI bill, said that the House
had made some progress in its discussions.

"I would like to express my appreciation for the defense
ministry and TNI for their readiness to accept the proposals from
the House factions," he told The Jakarta Post in Jakarta.

He said the House factions and the TNI had reached
understandings on some crucial issues.

Permadi, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle
(PDI-P) faction, said that the TNI has agreed to drop its
proposal that it be allowed to maintain its territorial role.

Under the New Order government of autocratic president
Soeharto, the TNI abused its territorial function to intimidate
those who refused to toe the government line.

The territorial role, which means that the military maintains
a system of local offices that parallels the structure of
civilian local government at all levels, was also used to take
control of security matters that were in fact the responsibility
of the National Police under the law.

Permadi said the House factions and the government had agreed
to relocate the military personnel manning the territorial system
to border areas and conflict zones.

"This is aimed at preventing the military from intervening in
political affairs like in the past," he said.

Meanwhile, the Golkar faction called on its members not to
attend the House during the plenary session of the five-day
annual session of the MPR that ended on Sunday night.

"We were told to focus on the final meeting of the Assembly.
We will start attending House meetings again only after the MPR
has ended its session," Golkar legislator Yasril Ananta
Baharuddin said.

Commenting on Golkar's stance, Permadi said that it would not
affect the deliberations of the TNI bill, arguing that the
legislators involved in the discussions had already secured the
approval of their respective faction leaders.