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TNI protection details for prosecutors spark overreach fears
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In step: Army personnel march on Oct. 5, 2024, in Banda Aceh, Aceh, during an event marking the 79th anniversary of the Indonesian Military (TNI). (AFP/Chaideer Mahyuddin)
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presidential regulation that allows prosecutors to receive personal protection from the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police has drawn criticism from observers, who question its urgency and warn it could lead the TNI to meddle in the country’s judiciary system.
The regulation, signed by President Prabowo Subianto last week, enables prosecutors to request state protection for themselves, their families, their property or other assets through the assignment of TNI members and police officers.
It follows a recent telegram issued by TNI chief Gen. Agus Subiyanto, which deployed military personnel to secure prosecutors' offices nationwide, heightening concerns over military overreach under the Prabowo administration.
Rizal Darma Putra, executive director of the Indonesia Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies (Lesperssi), said that while it was within Prabowo’s prerogative to order extra security for prosecutors, bringing in the TNI was disproportionate since the police could have handled the task.
“Unless the police say they aren’t capable, it’s unclear why the President saw the need to escalate the protection detail to involve TNI members, who are trained to take down threats in combat […],” he said on Tuesday.
Hendardi of rights group Setara Institute said not only was the regulation “substantively and procedurally flawed”, but it could also pave the way for the TNI to involve itself in the Attorney General’s Office’s (AGO) prosecutions and investigations.
“Rather than involving the TNI in civilian positions and law enforcement, which might hamper their professionalism, the President should instead pay more attention to improving [accountability] in the military and enhancing its professionalism in the defense sector,” Hendardi said.
