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TNI presence on campus stokes fears of shrinking civic space
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A protester puts up posters that read “Civilian supremacy“ (left) and “Democracy without the shadow of uniforms“ (bottom) during a protest against the revision of the Indonesian Military (TNI) Law in Jakarta on March 20, 2025. (Antara/Bayu Pratama S.)
T
he presence of Indonesian Military (TNI) members at two university student gatherings last week has further raised concerns about the growing threat to academic and civic freedom in the country.
The University of Indonesia’s (UI) student body held a gathering on April 16 at the university’s student activity center in Depok, on the outskirts of Jakarta, where a TNI member in full uniform was spotted in the vicinity.
The soldier reportedly did not have any direct interaction with the discussion but pictures of him shaking hands with students quickly went viral.
University spokesperson Arie Afriansyah said the rectorate had granted permission for Wednesday’s gathering but that it did not invite any military personnel.
“UI respects every student activity that takes place on campus, particularly when the activity has received [the rectorate’s] permission. [...] But the rectorate never invited the TNI to come and be present for the student gathering,” Arie said on Friday, as quoted by Kompas.com.
The student union was not available for comments when contacted by The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
Earlier in the week, students at the Walisongo State Islamic University (UIN) in Semarang, Central Java, were surprised by the presence of a TNI member during a student discussion on April 14.
