S

ince 1945, even though all Indonesians recognized they were part of Indonesia, they still retained many of their ethnic traits, faiths, languages, customs and so forth.

These differences never used to lead to disputes among groups, but today, sadly, we are witnessing a different reality. Religious groups reject other religious groups. If minority groups enter the territories of the majority groups, discrimination emerges.

Youth groups fight with other youth groups. Religious, ethnic and other types of conflict can be easily identified.

This phenomenon is allegedly due to the waning of nationalism and the love for the country. The zeal to defend the country has disappeared.

The problem is that the tensions that led to these conflicts suggested that the state was not present. In other words, the state is not able to resolve these conflicts and does not have the capacity to contain them.

It appears that there is a contradiction at play. The country requests that it be defended by its citizens, but it is often not present to protect and solve the problems of its citizens.

So is it still relevant to defend the country? Who should defend the country? All citizens or just the
military?

The concept of defending the country is often associated with the military, or militarism, as if the obligation and responsibility to defend the state lies only in the Indonesian Military (TNI). The country seems to be exclusively defended and the responsibility does not touch all citizens.

Paragraph 1 of Article 30 of the 1945 Constitution stipulates that the state protects the rights and obligations of all citizens of the Republic of Indonesia. Paragraph 2 of the same article regulates that the “actors” for defense and security are the TNI and the National Police as the main forces, and the people are supporters.

The provisions of the Constitution above are also followed up in Law No 3/2002 on State Affairs. In the Law, it is regulated that national defense is jointly conducted by the TNI and the National Police as well as all Indonesian citizens.

It is mentioned in the Constitution that all means must be adhered to by stakeholders in Indonesia. All parties should share the principles associated with defending the country.

The concept of defending the country should not be reduced to the mere matters of defense.

Many other aspects should also be involved in the concept of defending the country. Defending the country is not the sole obligation of all citizens. Civilians and military personnel must have their respective roles.

Defending the country is closely related to a sense of patriotism. The principle of patriotism is associated with affection, passion and ideals.

The process should be through induction from everyday experience and cannot be top-down. These experiences will first come through local identity, then national as well as international identity.

The balance of relations between state and citizen can also be interpreted as a principle of reciprocity. It is not only citizens who are asked to defend the country, but the government in this case should, through its policies, protect its citizens in accordance with the ideals of the nation.

There should be a parallel between the citizens and the state itself. It also implies that if the prerequisites must be created in a country, then the presence of the state is “reasonable” and must be defended.

Based on the above description, it could be seen that the concept of defending the country is not an exclusively military concept. It should involve all citizens.

The question then is, how do we internalize this concept to reach all citizens?

First, an important principle to defend the country should be included in the National Security Bill, which is being deliberated in the House of Representatives. The bill should name security actors such as the military, police, the National Defense Council and the State Intelligence Agency.

However, this bill does not mention the positions, responsibilities and obligations of citizens in the maintenance of national security. The absence of this point is presumably because the principle of defending the country as the obligations and rights of all citizens is not included.

Second, education as a strategic sector to defend the country has begun to be implemented. However, there are some considerations. The principle of defending the country as a process must be cultivated and not be taken for granted.

The relevant material should be incorporated among others in the 1945 Constitution, the state ideology of Pancasila and history textbooks.

The writer is a social researcher at the Indonesian Institute and the Center for Public Policy Research.