Abuses Feared As Indonesia's Army Called To Fight Terror War

by Fabio Scarpello

(IPS) JAKARTA -- Indonesia's renewed "war on terror," in the wake of the latest round of bombings in the tourist destination of Bali, could pave the way for renewed politicization of the country's military, say analysts.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has already called on the Indonesian Military (TNI) to be more active, and there are fears this could lead to abuse and halt the process of reform begun after the end of the Suharto era, in 1998.

"In this country, we are still struggling to depoliticize the TNI, and this decision will bring it back onto the political arena," said Salim Said, a political scientist from the Indonesia Institute of Science (LIPI), in an IPS interview.

Yudhoyono's announcement came during the TNI's 60th anniversary celebrations, on Oct. 4, and only three days after the latest Bali bombings which left 23 people dead, 140 injured and 22 still missing.

The attack was the latest in a series in Indonesia, bloodied at an almost yearly rhythm since 2000 by the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), which is fighting to bring most of Southeast Asia under a single Islamic state and is linked to Osama bin Laden's international Al Qaeda network.

In Indonesia, the burden of fighting terrorism has fallen on the shoulders of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) and the National Police, which lack funds, expertise and coordination.

Although dozens of JI's operatives have been arrested, the police and BIN have been found "guilty" of failing to prevent the attacks or capturing those believed to be behind the bombings.

This failure prompted Yudhoyono to call on the feared and only partly accountable TNI, which is still accused of widespread human rights abuse throughout the archipelago, to take on the JI.

The call for help was enthusiastically received by TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, who said he would take the necessary measures to crack down on terrorists by reactivating the military's "territorial function."

"The government has given us a clear order to participate in the war against terrorism. First, we will raise public awareness about the condition of local neighborhoods. Second, we will activate the territorial command down to the village level, and third, of course, we will share intelligence information with other institutions, especially the police," he said to the press after Yudhoyono's announcement.

The territorial function means a deployment of force akin to that of an occupying army. Soldiers are placed in every corner of the country, from the main cities down to the smallest villages. This system was used by former dictator Suharto as an effective tool to monitor people's movements and crush dissent.

Throughout the New Order regime, as Suharto's 33 years in power was dubbed, the territorial function gave rise to widespread excess of power and human rights abuse. It also brought generals into close contact with local politicians and businessmen, paving the way for collusion and interference in every facet of the country's life.

The territorial function was largely dismantled following the fall of Suharto, when the student-led "Reformasi" movement forced the introduction of reforms, aimed at limiting the power and influence of the TNI in Indonesian political life.

Although Sutanto claimed that this time the territorial function will not be abused, its revival has sent shivers down the spines of many analysts.

"People have not forgotten the abuse suffered at the hands of the TNI during the New Order Regime. They are still traumatized and the government has to be very careful about involving generals in the fight against terror," Hilman Latief, lecturer at Yogyakarta Muhammadiyah University's Department of Islamic Studies, told IPS.

Agus Widjojo, a commentator on military issues known for his pro-reform stance, said that any involvement of the TNI should be based on the constitution and the principle of democracy.

"The constitution gives the TNI a role in the national defense, but it can also be called upon by the president to help with domestic problems. However, it must respect the principle of democracy," he said.

According to Yudhoyono, the law allowing for the drafting of the TNI is Defense Law No. 34/2004, passed in September 2004. This has been hotly contested by some analysts who read the law differently.

J. Kristiadi, an expert on security at the Jakarta Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the move violated the law, which stipulates that TNI's territorial function must be eliminated by 2009.

"Reviving the territorial command is against the law," he told the Jakarta Post newspaper, adding that the military should only be involved in security matters if the police ask for its help.

Andi Widjayanto, a military analyst from the University of Indonesia, acknowledges that Article 11 of the law did not, in so many words, prohibit the reinstatement of the territorial function. But he said Yudhoyono's move was against the "spirit" of the law, which was written to push for TNI internal reforms.

In any case, according to Widjojo, if brought back, the territorial function has to be limited with safeguards and clear limits in time and duties.

"It has to be clear that it is a temporary measure and what the TNI can and cannot do. Both have to be stipulated by the political authority," he said.