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Lawmakers hold secret, rushed deliberations of TNI bill
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Members of the Army’s Special Forces (Kopassus) parade in formation during an exercise at a naval base in Cilegon, West Java, on Oct. 3, 2015, in preparation for the 70th anniversary celebration of the Indonesian Military (TNI). (AFP/Romeo Gacad)
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awmakers and the government are holding accelerated, closed-door talks on a planned revision to the Indonesian Military (TNI) Law, from which protesters were forcibly removed on Saturday, demonstrating the military’s growing influence in the country.
Concerns about the return of the TNI’s dwifungsi (dual function) role came to a head after a secret meeting of lawmakers on Saturday at Central Jakarta’s Fairmont Hotel, where members of House of Representatives Commission I overseeing defense hashed out new rules to expand the remit of the TNI in civilian life. The Prabowo administration was reportedly represented at the meeting by Deputy Defense Minister Donny Ermawan.
That afternoon, at least two activists from rights group the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) entered the hotel’s meeting room and called on lawmakers to stop the deliberations as they lacked meaningful public participation.
After making their statements, the activists were forcibly removed from the meeting room. A security guard at the hotel later reportedly filed a police report against one of the activists.
Kontras said TNI personnel and at least one tactical vehicle were seen around the hotel during the meeting.
Amnesty International Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid said the lawmakers were continuing a trend of secret, rushed deliberations that once were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The pandemic period provided even more justification for lawmakers and the government to choose less democratic methods [in lawmaking] by holding [meetings] without public access and without the participation of civil society,” Usman said.
