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Police, military race to lead terror combat
The country will still have to wait to have more comprehensive counterterrorism measures because of a tug of war between the country’s security and defense bodies over the amendment of the Terrorism Law
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he country will still have to wait to have more comprehensive counterterrorism measures because of a tug of war between the country’s security and defense bodies over the amendment of the Terrorism Law.
The two institutions, the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police, are competing to win the hearts of lawmakers in order to get more power for themselves in being able to act against terrorism included in the amendments.
Article 43B point 1 of the draft amendment stipulates that the policies and national strategies on counterterrorism are to be implemented by the National Police, the TNI and other relevant institutions, but whether the country needs to empower the TNI to have a role in counterterrorism remains unanswered.
The TNI is seeking direct involvement in counterterrorism, requesting that terrorism no longer be defined as a criminal act, arguing that terrorists are now coordinated in large groups and are run and equipped in military fashion.
Under prevailing law, the country has adopted a criminal justice model that considers an act of terrorism to be a criminal action. Thus it is outside of military jurisdiction and only law enforcement agencies can deal with it
directly.
“Terrorism is an extraordinary crime, thus it needs extraordinary measures. Preventive measures are needed, but if it doesn’t work, then we need repressive acts,” the TNI’s chief of general staff, Vice Adm. Didit Herdiawan Ashraf, said recently.
According to the 2004 TNI Law, the force may be involved in non-military operations, including counterterrorism operations, under the President’s orders.
The police, meanwhile, defended the status quo by saying that the measures should still be under the jurisdiction of the National Police for the sake of protecting human rights.
“The criminal justice system still works well because all things are subjected to the due process of law, all suspects are brought to the courts. They have the right to defend themselves, so their rights are more guaranteed. We see them as criminal suspects, not political fighters,” said National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian.
But that does not mean the police are clean when it comes to abuses. The National Commission of Human Rights (Komnas HAM) recorded 121 cases of alleged criminals abused by police officers and tortured to death between 2007 and 2016.
The Democratic Party, led by former president and TNI chief of territorial affairs Gen. (ret) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, as well as the Hanura Party, previously led by former TNI commander Gen. (ret) Wiranto, want the TNI to be more dominant instead of only acting in an assistance role.
Hanura Party lawmaker Sarifuddin Sudding was pessimistic that the country could anticipate acts of terrorism if the eradication focused only on law enforcement.
“We should combine the elements of the police and the TNI and find a way to unite their responsibilities to make a comprehensive regulation,” he said.
Special committee deputy chairman Hanafi Rais from the National Mandate Party (PAN) said that the TNI should not be granted a direct role and should only be able to move under the President’s order.
“If the TNI want to be involved, they must act under the President’s political decision. We still need to have a deeper discussion about it with the TNI. We don’t want to change our criminal justice system [to be a war system],” Hanafi said.
Meanwhile, the NasDem Party suggested that the draft be given back to the government until it could resolve the tug of war between the two institutions.
“Indonesia always has problems about jurisdiction among institutions. It’s better for the government resolve the war between the police and the TNI before giving the draft amendment to the House,” NasDem lawmaker Akbar Faizal said.
“They can be complementary. Good coordination can solve the problems better,” said National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) chief Comr. Gen. Suhardi Alius.
