Expanding the Roles of the Armed Forces

THE draft of the presidential decree on the Indonesian Armed Forces' (TNI) Organizational Structure has caused quite a commotion. A number of activists are concerned that the regulation would only give rise to a concept that is reminiscent of the Old Order era. In the old days, almost everyone was familiar with the Dwifungsi ABRI (the dual function of the Indonesian Armed Forces). In the presidential regulation draft there are three articles some consider to be 'horrifying' because they regulate the stretching of the military's authority. According to articles 4, 5 and 6, the TNI's duties would not only comprise defending and upholding the sovereignty of Indonesia's territoriestheir duties would also extend to matters of security as well, a task that has traditionally been the role of the police.

There are those that worry that, should the regulation be implemented, the military would be put in direct contact with civilians, since its roles would overlap with those of the police. There have been instances in the past where contact between the people and the military ended bitterly. For example, last Tuesday in Bogor, a member of the armed forces shot an ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver in the head. It was actually a trivial matter: the man was upset because his car was sideswiped by the ojek driver.