Speaking to his Myanmar counterpart, Defense Minister Sein Win, in a meeting in Vientiane on Tuesday, Ryamizard said the people’s force was more effective than any weapon in the fight against terrorism. This was one of the reasons Indonesia had developed the State Defense program, he went on.

“Weapons contribute only 1 percent in winning a fight against terrorism while people’s force accounts [for] 99 percent,” he said.

Ryamizard said Indonesia’s huge population of around 250 million was a great power to fight against terrorism, an ideology-based threat that was currently affecting the country with the largest Muslim population in the world.

“The Bela Negara program provides room for all 250 Indonesian people to face terrorist groups such as the IS [Islamic State] extreme group. All of the citizens must defend the country,” he stressed.

The Bela Negara program has raised criticism from various parties worried that it is an attempt to re-militarize the country. Some of them argued that training civilians with military skills, even if they were basic, might lead to clashes among people.

Responding such concerns, the Defense Ministry has repeatedly said that military training would only be provided to locals living in conflict-prone areas. (ebf)

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