A spate of acquittals absolving Indonesian military officers of human rights violations is being regarded as evidence of the armed forces continuing influence. An ad hoc human rights court in Jakarta this week cleared the army special forces chief and a retired army general of charges of gross human rights violations for their role in the 1984 Tanjung Priok military massacre. Last month, convictions were overturned against four security officers accused of violations during East Timor's 1999 transition to independence. There are now moves to rush through parliament a bill to allow serving military officers to be given senior government posts.

Presenter/Interviewer: Marianne Kearney

Speakers: Alvin Lie, Member of the Indonesian Parliament, National Mandate Party (PAN); Riza Sihbudi, political analayst, the Indonesian Institute of Sciences

Kearney: Alvin Lie, a parliamentarian opposing the bill, fears these proposals would take the military back to the days of the Suharto regime. Back then the military was officially not just a defence force, but the force which was used to protect the government from its critics.

Lie: "Now I believe this will pave the way for the return of the duel function of the military – that is military and politics. And that is totally against the spirit of reform. Secondly there is also a clause in the bill that in emergency circumstances, the president will have the right to deploy the armed forces in times of emergency, so does this mean they have the right in times of emergency?"

Kearney: There are other worrying clauses, says Lie, such as one allowing the military commander to launch a three day long military operation without the president's approval.

Lie: "It is only for three times 24 hours but who knows in this time, the military could do anything. "

Kearney: Lie says he suspects the military faction with the backing of the government was trying to have the bill rushed through the existing parliament which is much more pliable and accommodating to the military, than the next parliament is likely to be.

Lie: "There is a strong signal from the executive that they would like to have this bill passed in this term. Although the president has denied this."

Kearney: Analyst Riza Sihbudi, from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, thinks the bill got backing from government because President Megawati Sukarnoputri, who promotes herself as a civilian reformer, is in fact very pro-military.

Sihbudi: "Megawati is still very dependent on the military. We want a professional military, not involved in politics, but the military enjoys its role in politics."

Kearney: President Megawati has come out and said there is no need to rush the bill through parliament. But this say analaysts is because the highly controversial bill has attracted a lot of negative press, ahead of the September presidential elections. But the Defence Minister, the armed forces Commander, General Sutarto, and the home affairs minister, have all kept up the pressure on parliament to pass the bill.