TNI ready to leave conflict zones: Chief

TNI ready to leave conflict zones: Chief

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian Military (TNI) said it was ready to withdraw its
involvement in settling armed conflicts in the country, provided
that this decision came from the people.

"I leave it to their consensus. If we are to withdraw from the
conflict zones, we would be happy to do so. The more tasks taken
away from us, the happier we will be because we can just rest at
home, but still get a salary," TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto
said on Monday during a meeting with House of Representatives
Commission I for security affairs.

Endriartono was responding to a proposal from the Brussels-
based International Crisis Group (ICG) that the military withdraw
from Papua and that the police should take full responsibility of
security in the province.

In a report published in this newspaper on Monday, the ICG
said the military's involvement in the easternmost province of
Irian Jaya should be questioned. The ICG said the presence of
military forces on the island worsened the security situation.

Endriartono said that the TNI had been pushing for a clear-cut
guideline for its responsibility in security to avoid an overlap
with police duties.

"I am expecting to have a discussion with the National Police
chief about the draft, so that it will be legally clear what
actions need to be taken to cope with the violence," said
Endriartono.

"We need to set up such a law," Endriartono said.

The National Police became separated from TNI in 1999 and with
the separation, internal security matters come under full police
responsibility as stipulated in People's Consultative Assembly
(MPR) Decree No. VI/1999. However, the decree does not provide
clear-cut guidelines on TNI's responsibility in internal
security.

According to the existing defense law, TNI shares security
responsibility in, among other things, guarding vital
installations and projects.

Legislators, meanwhile, defended TNI's presence in conflict
areas.

"The number of police officers is limited. Police personnel
are also not as well trained as their military counterparts to
cope with conflicts," Amris Hassan from the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) faction said.