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https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/06/03/troop-deployment-plan-stokes-fear-of-return-to-hard-tactics-dwifungsi.html
*Troop deployment plan stokes fear of return to hard tactics, Dwifungsi*


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   Marchio Irfan Gorbiano

   The Jakarta Post

Jakarta   /   Thu, June 4, 2020   /   07:25 am





On the lookout: Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel stand guard at the
Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta on Sunday. TNI and
National Police personnel are being deployed at various public places to
enforce health protocols as part of the implementation of “new normal”
measures in Jakarta. (JP / Wendra Ajistyatama)



The government’s decision to prepare hundreds of thousands of Indonesian
Military (TNI) officers for deployment to help enforce pandemic health
protocols has drawn criticism among defense analysts and human rights
experts for its nod to past military practices.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo announced last week that the Indonesian
Military (TNI) and the National Police would work together to guard crowded
places in preparation for the so-called “new normal” of living alongside
COVID-19.

As many as 340,000 troops have been on stand-by to deploy across more than
two dozen cities to oversee enforcement of measures aimed at curbing
transmission of the disease, as the country gears up for the eventual
easing of restrictions on movement and travel.

Read also: COVID-19: Health minister issues ‘new normal’ guidelines for
workplaces
<https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/05/25/covid-19-health-minister-issues-new-normal-guidelines-for-workplaces.html>

But the move risks inviting people to rise up against a possible “hard”
security approach to compliance, said security expert Anton Aliabbas, as
the economy fumbles and incomes dissipate as a result of the viral outbreak
and the ensuing restrictions.

“The problem is whether ‘disciplining’ the public requires the TNI [to step
in]. If people refuse to obey, will [troops] become coercive?” asked Anton,
who is a researcher from security reforms and human rights watchdog
Imparsial.

Taking a hard approach without discretion, he said, could “trigger greater
resistance amidst the surge of unemployment and peoples’ frustration”.

Such a move could also potentially undermine the military’s main duty to
safeguard against national security threats or threats to territorial
integrity, said Amnesty International Indonesia executive director Usman
Hamid.

“We do not need military personnel to remind the public to wash their hands
properly or to practice strict social distancing – we have health officers
or the Public Order Agency [Satpol PP] to do that,” Usman said in a
statement to *The Jakarta Post*.

“Involving military personnel to enforce health protocols will in fact
undermine their primary role to maintain security; we need to remember that
this is a health emergency, not a civilian one.”

Read also: Civil emergency measures will not be implemented to fight
COVID-19: Mahfud
<https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/04/01/civil-emergency-measures-will-not-be-implemented-to-fight-covid-19-mahfud.html>

Jokowi floated the idea of declaring a civil emergency in March but backed
off following pushback from critics. Many of them argued that imposing a
civil emergency could undermine human rights and that was not suited to the
current circumstances.

Government Regulation in Lieu of Law (Perppu) No. 23/1959 on civil
emergency stipulates that the President has the authority to declare a
state of civil emergency, which would allow for the wider mobilization of
security assets, among other things.

Usman also expressed concerns over the implied return of *Dwifungsi*, a New
Order-era policy under which the former Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) were
allowed to take on civilian roles in government.

Read also: Mixed response to new rules on TNI engagement
<https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/07/02/mixed-response-to-new-rules-on-tni-engagement.html?src=mostviewed&pg=/>

The Jokowi administration has seen the return of more TNI officers and
retired military generals to public office, facilitated in Presidential
Regulation (Perpres) No. 37/2019 on functional positions for TNI personnel.

The President’s flirtations with the nation’s security apparatuses have
alarmed rights activists and victims of past trauma, many of whom fear a
return to draconian New Order practices. Critics have also pushed back
against the security approach that Jokowi seems to prefer when dealing with
the COVID-19 outbreak.

The military deployment plan follows another plan to legally involve troops
in the fight against terrorism, long considered to be the domain of the
police as stipulated in the 2018 Terrorism Law.

Read also: Plan to expand military role in fight against terrorism raises
red flag, again
<https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/05/14/plan-to-expand-military-role-in-fight-against-terrorism-raises-red-flag-again.html>

Jokowi has also called for the active involvement of the TNI and Polri in
the fight against forest fires, and had even gone on record to say that he
would replace the top brass at the local and provincial levels if they
could not quell the fires.

Defense analysts have questioned the TNI’s latest deployment plan, arguing
that while the military could be involved in non-combat assignments, the
executive order still lacked clear boundaries. Military operations other
than war (MOOTW) are usually temporary in nature, experts insist.

According to Paragraph 3, Article 7 of the 2004 TNI Law, the President
holds the authority to use the military’s forces in war operations and
MOOTW with approval from lawmakers.

“This [deployment order], meanwhile, is a decision that is conveyed
verbally. Who can guarantee the limitations of the operation?” said
Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) researcher Diandra Megaputri Mengko..

Diandra urged the government to follow existing regulations before
deploying military forces as part of “new normal” protocol.

Presidential spokesman Fadjroel Rachman did not immediately respond to the
*Post*’s inquiry about the policy.

Last Tuesday, the President instructed the military and the police to guard
public places in DKI Jakarta, West Java, West Sumatra and Gorontalo and 25
cities to get them to obey health protocols.

Read also: Jokowi deploys TNI, police to enforce ‘new normal’
<https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/05/26/jokowi-deploys-tni-police-to-enforce-new-normal.html>

TNI commander Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto said personnel from the
joint TNI-Polri operations would guard 1,800 spots around the country,
including in malls, traditional markets and tourist attractions, among
other places.

TNI spokesman Maj. Gen. Sisriadi said the military had 150,000 troops and
the police had 190,000 officers on stand-by, although he insisted that only
20,000 military personnel had been deployed to select areas to enforce the
rules.

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