Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono insisted Wednesday that members of the military should not face trial in civilian courts, even though President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has agreed to the move.
Juwono and Justice and Human Rights Minister Hamid Awaluddin are representing the government in deliberating a military tribunal bill that addresses the issue. On Tuesday, Hamid said the President had agreed to allow military officers to be tried by civilian courts on criminal charges.
The justice minister made the statement after receiving a call from State Secretary Yusril Ihza Mahendra in Japan, where the latter accompanied Yudhoyono on a four-day visit that ended Wednesday. Hamid said Yusril conveyed the president's decision during the phone call.
The government's previous opposition to the trials had stalled the deliberation of the bill in the House. Juwono said he would seek clarification directly from the President as to whether he made the statement reported by the justice minister.
"I will meet with the President to ask for an explanation of what precisely his message is after he returns from Japan and Russia," Juwono told journalists after a hearing with the House defense commission Wednesday.
He said the Defense Ministry and the Indonesian Military (TNI) have their own ideas about military tribunals. He did not elaborate.
Juwono also argued that the bill had no strong legal basis, since the People's Consultative Assembly decree on the separation of the TNI from the National Police was scrapped after the enactment of the 2004 law on the military.
Both the decree and the law ordered soldiers to face civilian trials for common criminal charges. The bill now under consideration was designed based on the law.
But Juwono said the stipulation in the law that allowed civilian courts to try soldiers was "just a political compromise made under emergency conditions". The defense minister did not elaborate.
His stance immediately drew strong reactions Wednesday from human rights activists and lawmakers involved in deliberating the military tribunal bill.
Andreas Pareira, who chairs the House special committee for the deliberation, said Juwono's reluctance reflected an inflexible commitment to maintaining a powerful military with weak civilian oversight.
"The minister's mindset looks down on a stronger civil society and on the reform movement, including internal reform in the military," he said.
Andreas vowed that the special committee would fight for the bill in order to ensure sweeping reform in the military. "The minister should not give his comments as an observer. The government must comply with Law No. 34/2004 on the TNI, which functions as an umbrella law for the bill," he said.
Andreas said all citizens, including soldiers, are equal before the law, and that the military has no legal impunity.
Human rights activists said the House should speed up the deliberation of the bill. "They should use this opportunity as best they can," said Donny Ardyanto of the rights groups Imparsial.
Haris Azhar of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence criticized Juwono's resistance. "He has cast doubt on whether the President made such a statement. The minister should take Yudhoyono's statement as an order," he said.