As Indonesia's military celebrates its 64th anniversary today, human rights activists are urging it to pursue the reforms introduced following the fall of strongman Suharto in 1998.

"We are calling on the military to reform itself as mandated by the law," Haris Azhar, deputy chairman of the Commission for Disappearances and Victims of Violence, said on Sunday.

According to Kontras, a human rights group established by the late Munir Said Thalib, the military has dragged its feet on reform, particularly of the military justice system, the relinquishing of its business interests and the revamping of its territorial structure.

Military law number 34-2004 mandates that Indonesia have a military tribunal law by the end of 2009. No action, however, has been taken to that end. "The existing military justice is full of impunity for perpetrators," Haris said.

The recently dissolved House of Representatives had planned to endorse a military tribunal law by the end of September, but disagreement between the House and the military over who should question military personnel charged with civilian crimes stalled the deliberations.

Lawmakers in the House had insisted that military personnel accused of civilian crimes be questioned by police and tried in civilian courts. The military wanted military investigators to question them. It is still unclear if the new House would continue deliberating the bill.

Military personnel accused of civilian crimes are now tried in military tribunals that are notoriously lenient. Many critics say the military courts are merely used to placate the public rather than uphold justice.

Also troubling to Haris are the military's many business interests. Under law number 3-2002, the military was to transfer its businesses to the government by September 2009, but nothing has happened.

The military, which runs thousands of businesses in fields as diverse as aviation, finance, logging, agriculture, retail, and travel, has justified its involvement in business by saying that its annual budget is inadequate. Critics respond that its business revenue has not benefited lower-income personnel.

Haris also urged the military to abandon its long-standing territorial structure, which led to severe human rights violations under Suharto.

"Our military still considers the populace at large as a threat, justifying the formation of territorial structure from the provincial to the district level. That is unnecessary," he said.

However, Haris primarily blames the inaction of the civilian leadership for the military's failure to reform. "The unfinished reforms are due to the absence of political will on the part of the government... to pursue the reforms," Haris said.