TNI, police won't be reunited: Susilo

JAKARTA: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono denied on Monday reports that the government would again combine the Indonesia Military (TNI) and the National Police in an effort to boost the coordination of the two institutions.

"The President said that he had no intention of merging the military and the police," said Fadjrul Falaakh, a member of the National Law Commission (KHN), after a meeting with the President in Jakarta.

He quoted Susilo as saying that the separation of the two institutions was part of the country's sweeping reforms marked by the 1998 downfall of Soeharto.

Earlier last week, Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono was quoted by national media as saying his office was drafting a law that would effectively reunite the TNI and police, as a means to improve coordination in dealing with domestic security. -- JP