Watchdog calls on House to stop deliberating TNI bill
Watchdog calls on House to stop deliberating TNI bill
Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta
The Parliament Watchdog joined the opposition to the amended bill
on the Indonesian Military (TNI) on Friday, calling on the House
of Representatives not to push for a deliberation due to time
constraints.
The non-governmental organization said the limited time
available for the deliberation would degrade the quality of the
legislation, which deals with crucial matters.
"There should be a certain consideration as to why both the
government and the lawmakers decided to speed up the deliberation
within just a month," Parliament Watch chairman Tommy A. Legowo
told The Jakarta Post.
The House has set a target of completing the debate within a
month, starting on Aug. 24, to allow military representatives in
the legislative body to take part in the deliberation of a bill
that deals with their institution. The House and the People's
Consultative Assembly will no longer reserve seats for the
military and police after the current lawmakers complete their
tenure at the end of September.
Instead of forming an inter-commission team, the House leaders
have entrusted the House's Commission I on security and defense
to deliberate the bill.
Tommy said the decision to debate the bill in a limited group
would merely deprive the public of access to the decision-making
process albeit the gravity of its contents.
"How could the important regulation be discussed in a limited
group? I wish lawmakers would drop their plan before they cause
damage that affects the public," Tommy said.
T. Hari Prihantono of the non-governmental organization Pro
Patria said President Megawati had violated Law No. 30/2002 on
state defense when she assigned the office of the Coordinating
Minister for Political and Security Affairs to review the draft,
instead of the Ministry of Defense which directly supervises the
Military.
"All matters related to the TNI should be endorsed by the
Ministry of Defense because Law No. 30/2002 says so. By letting
another government office deal with the TNI's interests, the
government is in violation of the law," Hari told a discussion
held by a Nahdlatul Ulama think-tank on Friday.
The bill has been criticized for allowing the Military to
maintain its territorial function.
The defense ministry's director general of strategic defense
Maj. Gen. Sudrajat said the government had not violated any law
because the formulation of the bill involved his ministry and
other related ministries.
Defense minister Matori Abdul Djalil has been sick since last
year, with the office of coordinating minister for political and
security affairs taking over decision-making about strategic
policies.