Who needs Military Command in Jakarta?

Who needs Military Command in Jakarta?

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.