The military dispatch has alerted human rights activists who see it as a hint toward the military’s growing presence in the civil sector during the administration of President Prabowo Subianto, particularly after the recent controversial amendment to the TNI Law.
The Indonesian Military’s (TNI) expanded deployment of personnel to provide security protection for prosecutors nationwide has once again landed the institution in hot water for stoking fears of military intervention in the judicial realm.
The military is dispatching its soldiers to guard all prosecutors’ offices nationwide in order to ensure smoothness and security for prosecutors in their work following a telegram message signed by TNI chief Gen. Agus Subiyanto on May 5. The telegram message instructed the deployment of 30 military personnel for every provincial prosecutor’s office and 10 for every district level office.
Attorney General’s Office (AGO) spokesperson Harli Siregar said on Monday that the security protection shows the TNI’s support for the prosecutors and is based on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) dated April 6, 2023, that aims to bolster cooperation between the two institutions.
The military dispatch has alerted human rights activists who see it as a hint toward the military’s growing presence in the civil sector during the administration of President Prabowo Subianto, particularly after the recent controversial amendment to the TNI Law.
“This kind of deployment further strengthens the military’s intervention in the civilian sphere, especially in the ??law enforcement area,” a coalition of 20 rights groups, including the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) and the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), said in a statement on Sunday.
The coalition called on the military to revoke the letter of deployment, as it warned that the military’s defense duties could degrade the independence of Indonesia’s law.
Dwifungsi fears
Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia, said the order violates the Constitution and a number of laws, including the law governing the AGO and the TNI Law itself, which was revised in March despite public protest against provisions many believe pave the way for TNI’s expansion into civilian roles.
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Indonesian military security protection for attorney general’s office draws flak
