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As TNI cracks down on FPI, critics warn against overreach
The TNI will continue taking down banners of those campaigning for a "revolution" or any other similar rhetoric, said the Jakarta Military Comman.
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he Jakarta Military Command’s decision to take down banners depicting firebrand cleric and Islam Defenders Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shihab has raised questions over the Indonesian Military’s (TNI) participation in civilian matters.
Such involvement is questionable, said Institute for Security and Strategic Studies researcher Khairul Fahmi, who saw the move as the military’s effort to take over authority from agencies more relevant in dealing with Rizieq and his supporters.
He urged the military to avoid taking actions that may be considered aggressive.
“The military should not be that aggressive. There should not be any overlap of authorities and functions across state organizations,” Fahmi said on Friday as reported by kompas.com.
The military also should not give the impression that the country is under serious threat, he added.
Human rights activists have also criticized the role of the military in dealing with Rizieq’s antics.
“This [taking down banners] could intimidates people and imply that the country is at risk of being torn apart and descend into chaos because of the provocative actions of a few,” said prodemocracy activist Gufron Mabruri of Imparsial.
He also questioned the urgency of the TNI’s involvement in removing FPI banners at several locations across Jakarta.
“What is so urgent that the TNI had to take part in taking down FPI banners?” Ghufron said.
The TNI should follow the proper institutional authorities and instead allow the Jakarta administration to take down the banners through the Jakarta Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) if they had indeed been illegally erected, Ghufron added.
“In the context of Jakarta, there is the Satpol PP, whose tasks include removing [illegal] banners.”
Ghufron further said that taking down banners was not part of TNI’s duties, according to the 2004 Law on the TNI, which stipulates that law enforcement and public order are not part of TNI’s authorities.
The TNI should not order its personnel to take part in law enforcement if other agencies are already in charge, he added.
“It would be counterproductive, regardless of political difference.”
Ghufron suggested that all parties prioritize communication and open dialogues to solve their problems.
Previously, Jakarta Military Commander Maj. Gen. Dudung Abdurrachman said he had ordered his subordinates to take down FPI banners, arguing that Satpol PP personnel had already taken them down but FPI supporters kept putting them back up.
“The personnel in uniform who removed the banners acted on my orders,” Dudung said on Friday.
He said the TNI would continue taking down banners campaigning for a "revolution" or any other similar rhetoric.
Dudung’s orders to take down Rizieq’s banners came shortly after TNI commander Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto visited the headquarters of the Navy’s Marine Corps and the Army’s Special Forces Command (Kopassus), during which he warned that anyone who posed a threat to the nation’s unity would be dealt with by the military.
“Fellow soldiers, I want to reiterate the primacy of the nation’s unity and the need to maintain national stability. So, we should not allow the nation’s unity be weakened by provocations and ambitions under the guise of identity [politics],” Hadi told Kopassus soldiers. (ami)
