TNI keeps power to try soldiers
Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta
The military said it would maintain the authority to investigate soldiers accused of criminal offenses outside of military, brushing aside public demands to try servicemen in civilian courts.
The Military Police Chief Maj. Gen. Sulaiman A. Basyir said on Wednesday that each person accused of committing crimes outside of the military would be legally processed by the internal affairs department at each military branch.
"We (the military) will continue processing soldiers accused of committing crimes because we believe that legal officers with both the police and the military have yet to improve their legal knowledge to investigate such cases," Sulaiman told the press on the sidelines of his corps' 54th anniversary commemoration.
"We have to be careful in responding to any suggestion calling on the military to let police take over investigation against our servicemen because it is something new for us. Once we fail to introduce a policy to soldiers in the field, I'm worried that it will spark disputes between the two institutions," he added.
Beginning in 1984, the dominant Army was granted the full authority to investigate and process servicemen accused of military and/or criminal offenses. The corps, at one time, even had the power to take legal action against police officers, but such power was terminated following the separation of the TNI and the National Police in 2001.
Last year, the Indonesian Military (TNI) headquarters started to discuss the authority of each military branch and its internal affairs department to take legal action against their personnel.
In March, TNI Chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto signed a decree, deciding on the shifting of the supervision of the National Military Police -- led by a two-star Army general -- to be directly under to the TNI headquarters from the Army.
Under the decree, TNI leadership appoints a high-ranking military officer from the military police corps to be a special officer leading the corps.
The decree, however, does not regulate the establishment of a joint team of the police and the military to investigate cases that implicate servicemen, but grants the Navy's, the Army's and the Air Force's internal affairs officers with power to prosecute their own personnel committing both military and criminal offenses.
Critics have said the establishment of the military court has resulted in impunity for too many accused servicemen.
Sulaiman argued that the separation of the jobs of each military force would help the Army improve its capabilities while carrying out its legal tasks.
"Within the Army alone, no less than 2,000 cases are filed each year, and it will be difficult for the Army to deal with the cases if we are not supported by various facilities, including a laboratory," Sulaiman said. "Due to our limited capabilities, we can only deal with about 85 percent of all cases."