Where should Kodam be positioned?

Emmy Fitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In the big city of Jakarta, where there are neither simmering separatist movements nor challenges from foreign invaders, where should the dear soldiers of the city Military Command (Kodam) be positioned?

Ikrar Nusa Bhakti, a political and military critic from the Indonesian Science and Research Institute (LIPI), said the troops were needed to safeguard the nation, and should concentrate on security threats to the country and not "an established and politically aware population," like Jakarta's.

"This is not because I am against Kodam, or its territorial function, but more for efficiency," he said. "If there is a need for territorial command in certain areas, then it should be an integrated one for all elements of the Armed Forces."

There are at least 3,000 soldiers in Jakarta, whose main job is to help the police keep the city secure, during things like the Idul Fitri exodus and the Christmas masses in churches.

Jakarta's Military Command which just marked its 52nd anniversary on Monday, becomes the base for army soldiers in the capital. Other elements, the Navy and the Air Force, also have their own commands in the capital.

"Our mistake is that we do not push the government to build military barracks for the soldiers, so when the public demands for them to return to barracks, where do they have to go?" Ikrar asked.

The Jakarta provincial military command, however, is still strong, despite calls to scrap the military's territorial commands, which to many observers, are regarded to be part of its omnipresent and complex network of control over Indonesia.

They range from commands at the national to village level, which used to attract strong criticism.

This extensive network is comprised of Regional Military Commands (Kodam) in most of Indonesia's 32 provinces, Resort Military Commands in small provinces; District Military Commands (Kodim) in regencies and mayoralties, along with Subdistrict Military Commands (Koramil) in subdistricts and Military Representatives Posts in villages.

Many said that the Jakarta command was a pivotal training ground for officers seeking to enter higher positions -- such practices were obvious during the administration of former president Soeharto, who himself was a five-star general.

Some of the generals who "graduated" from the command were former vice president Try Sutrisno; former military chief Gen. (ret) Wiranto; Jakarta Governor Lt. Gen. (ret) Sutiyoso; chief of the Army's Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad) Lt. Gen. Ryamizard Riacudu and Coordinating Minister for Security, Political and Welfare affairs Gen. (ret) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Unlike during 1945 or the revolutionary wars, Ikrar further stressed that, ideally, the soldiers should be in military barracks and practicing their military skills, or be assigned in remote areas or border areas with neighboring countries where threats of foreign invasion were obvious.

Another military critic from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Kusnanto Anggoro, said in a seminar in October that the military's territorial functions will still be needed in Indonesia over the next 20 years, but added that this was largely due to local politicians' lack of will and an absence of public readiness to create civil self-defense system.

The former Indonesian Military (TNI's) chief for territorial affairs, Lt. Gen. Agus Widjojo, who once disclosed a plan to abolish the military's territorial role, said it would take a long time to replace such a function. He said, however, that the TNI was prepared to hand over their security function to the National Police and provincial administrations.

The takeover could not be conducted immediately, as several factors needed to be considered, including the public's readiness, the availability of substitute bodies and the TNI's internal management, Agus said.