Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The Army says it is fully prepared to assist the police in antiterrorism work, particularly in the areas of intelligence gathering, bomb disposal and the deployment of special forces.
Army spokesman Brig. Gen. Christian Zebua said the Army had thousands of personnel in its Village Guidance Boards (Babinsa) who could be dispatched to collect information and supervise villagers in dealing with any suspicious activity.
The Army also has bomb-disposal teams in each of the 12 military commands across the country, which were always ready to assist police.
"We also have the special antiterror detachment under Kopassus [The Special Forces] and another antiterror team under Kostrad [the Army Strategic Reserve Command]," Zebua said. "They are always ready to be deployed for hammering any terror groups."
Zebua was commenting on action being taken by the Army as a result of a meeting of Army commanders in Jakarta last Friday, in which Army Chief of Staff Gen. Agustadi Sasongko Purnomo told those gathered to be actively involved in antiterrorist work mainly conducted by police.
Agustadi urged greater coordination between military and police commanders.
"Please sharpen our intelligence activity, early detection of terror threats and improve our early reporting system," Agustadi said.
"Guide our citizens to be aware of any strangers in their own area and file reports with security agencies. Tell them to be brave in arresting anyone suspected of terrorism," Agustadi said.
Although it was only a verbal instruction, Zebua said commanders would follow the order. He said the Army was in dire need of new "rules of engagement" for soldiers deployed on antiterrorist work.
The Army could not be fully involved in terror detection and eradication at the moment because the country's Anti-Terrorism Law stipulated that the military could only be involved if the police sought its help. However, the police seldom asked for assistance from the military when working on terrorist threats, he said.
"There must be clear rules of engagement that gives the military permission to be actively involving in antiterrorism and not just waiting for any call for assistance," Zebua said.
Meanwhile, lawmaker Andreas Pareira, a member of the House of Representatives Commission I that oversees defense and foreign affairs, agreed with Zebua, saying the military should be given the authority to be actively involved in antiterrorism.
"Currently, there is no clear regulation for the involvement of security agencies in antiterrorism. There will always be poor coordination between the military and the police," Andreas said.
He added that the military had good capabilities and resources for such work, as well as a better territorial network across the country, which would be useful in dealing with terrorists.
"I suggest the government soon issue a special rule or a presidential decree, which gives authority for the military to work without waiting for any demand from the police," he said."