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Democracy activists call for review of controversial state defense training
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God's self-proclaimed soldiers — Islam Defenders Front (FPI) members express their anger during a recent protest. (Tempo/-)
T
he controversial State Defense program gained criticism following the recent involvement of members of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) in the military-like training, which pro-democracy activists referred as a “stain on democracy”, one activist has said.
The head of the department of politics of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Irene Gayatri, said that the State Defense program itself was problematic in nature because of the possibility it created to mobilize civilians for war duties.
“Will we give space for a vigilante mass organization like the FPI, which has repeatedly committed violence, to ruin democracy in the name of defending the state?” she asked.
(Read also: PDI-P questions military training for FPI members)
Irene said that the Indonesian Military (TNI) would also ruin the image of the institution by providing military-style training to a controversial organization like the FPI.
The State Defense program has raised criticism from the start when the Defense Ministry introduced the training to the public last year. The controversial program attracted attention again recently following the posting of photographs on Instagram by an account belonging to the FPI, @dpp_fpi, showing pictures of its members in Lebak, Banten, being trained by TNI officers.
The Siliwangi Military Command has fired Lebak military commander Lt. Col. Czi Ubaidillah for having held the training session in Banten, which human rights activist Hendardi called “a correct decision”, although he encouraged TNI to take more actions to discipline its members for misconduct.
“Firing the Lebak military commander is not enough to make sure the TNI distances itself from intolerant and destructive groups that pose a threat to diversity, as well as to the NKRI [Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia],” said the director of the Setara Institute, a Jakarta-based human rights watchdog. (dan)
