Andi Hajramurni, Jakarta/Makassar – The Indonesian Military (TNI) should work better with the National Police to fight terrorism, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Tuesday at an event to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the TNI in Halim Perdanakusuma, East Jakarta.
"The country's development will succeed if we as a nation are able to maintain security, stability, public order and cohesion. In this era of reformation, these things are absolute," Yudhoyono said at the commemoration.
The President asserted that strategic and operational measures were needed to combat terrorism. "The country cannot lose the fight against terror. We have to win as terrorists are our enemies, as well as those of the country," he added.
Indonesia has witnessed an increase in underground activities linked to terrorism, especially in Sumatra. A series of joint operations by police and the military in North Sumatra last weekend, for example, resulted in the arrest of three terrorism suspects, two in Dali Serdang regency and one in Serdang Bedagai regency. Another six suspects were reportedly killed in the operation, with two of the dead believed to be associated with robbers who held up a CIMB Niaga bank in Medan in August.
Yudhoyono requested that cooperation between the TNI and police be enhanced in order to suppress terrorism. He also instructed government officials to play an active role in maintaining security, as social conflicts – sometimes followed by violence – had increased recently.
"In this instance, I hope police can be more proactive in resolving problems. We need to ensure that law and justice are enforced and upheld in this country," Yudhoyono said. Mass organizations should not resort to violence, instigate riots or attack police officers, the President added.
A rising tide of ethnic and religious violence has increased in intensity and frequency across the country. A recent communal clash in Tarakan, East Kalimantan, a deadly gang brawl near the South Jakarta District Court building and the Sept. 12 stabbing of two church leaders in Bekasi, West Java, are just the latest in a spate of incidents of violence sparked by ethnic and religious elements.
During commemorations of the TNI's 65th anniversary in Makassar, South Sulawesi, 100 TNI veterans and their families voiced concerns about the current state of the armed forces in front of the West Irian Liberation Monument.
The veterans, with many decked head-to-toe in military uniforms, did not hoist the national flag or sing the national anthem, but raised a white flag and a paper national flag, while standing in a circle.
Col. (Ret.) Muhammad Idris, who led the ceremony, said the armed forces had departed from their principle of being "the people's soldiers and fighters" striving to maintain the sovereignty of the Republic.
Idris said he was concerned about the way in which many TNI veterans and their families were treated, especially those who had been evicted from state-owned army housing complexes in South Sulawesi.
"All of us who are present here share the same unfortunate circumstances. We have been ignored and pitted against our children, as well as against other active military personnel. It's so sad that even our own institutional leaders have kicked us out of our own houses in which we have lived for years," he said.
On Aug. 9, the Army chief of staff issued an eviction notice to the veterans and ordered them to vacate their property within six months.
During the ceremony, Let. Col. (Ret.) Djaenal Gultom, the chairman of the Coordination Forum of the Defense Ministry's office of state-owned housing for TNI and police officers in South Sulawesi, rejected the notice, saying that the letter did not accord with a 2008 Presidential decree, which guarantees the rights of TNI veterans to file a property lien. (tsy)