TNI Addresses Involvement in Securing Student Demonstration at Bundaran HI
The Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) headquarters has addressed the involvement of its soldiers in securing a student demonstration originally planned for the Hotel Indonesia (HI) Roundabout in Central Jakarta on Friday (12/6). The protest was prevented from reaching the roundabout after a joint TNI-Polri force halted the student masses at the Tosari area beforehand.
Regarding the deployment of troops, TNI Information Centre Head Brigadier General Muhammad Nas stated it was carried out at the request of the police. He said the TNI’s role was to support the police from behind during the security operation. “Handling demonstrations is the responsibility of the police; the deployment of the TNI is based on a request to assist. This means the police remain at the front,” Nas said when contacted on Friday.
Based on observations, TNI and Polri personnel blockaded students attempting to hold the demonstration at the HI Roundabout. Officers dispersed the crowd around Jalan MH Thamrin. The masses remained at the location from afternoon until evening, gradually dispersing after 7:30 PM Western Indonesian Time.
Five demands were brought to the protest. These included urging the government to stop wasting the state budget (APBN), lowering prices of staple goods and fuel, halting the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme and the construction of the Red and White Village Cooperatives, ending civilian militarisation, and demanding President Prabowo Subianto stop evading responsibility and acknowledge the government’s mistakes.
The involvement of the TNI, including alleged Reserve Component (Komcad) personnel, drew strong protests from the Civil Society Coalition for Security Sector Reform. The coalition comprises organisations such as LBH Jakarta, LBH Pers, AJI Jakarta, PBHI, ICJR, ELSAM, Imparsial, YLBHI, KontraS, and Walhi.
“The coalition views the deployment of the TNI to confront demonstrations at several points in Jakarta as a misguided policy. In a democratic state, military mobilisation should only be a last resort when all civilian apparatus is no longer capable of controlling the situation,” they stated.
The civil society coalition reminded that in a democracy, particularly in Indonesia, every use of defence instruments must adhere to the principles of accountability, transparency, and civilian supremacy. Furthermore, they stressed that the TNI is the main component of state defence, while the Indonesian National Police is the institution responsible for maintaining public security and order.
“Therefore, a fundamental question arises: what threat is the state facing that necessitates the deployment of the Reserve Component? Are the TNI as the main defence component and the Polri as the public order apparatus considered incapable of carrying out their functions and authorities, thus requiring the mobilisation of Komcad?” they asked.
On this basis, the civil society coalition considers the deployment of the Reserve Component on 12 June to be an illegal act under the law and constitutionally. “We view the mobilisation of Komcad today, 12 June, as an illegal mobilisation,” they stated. “Article 63 paragraph (1) of the PSDN Law explicitly states that the President may declare mobilisation if all or part of the territory of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia is in a state of military emergency or a state of war,” they added.