Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – The Indonesian Military will not play a major role in the fight against terrorism, instead serving as a backup for the National Police's Detachment 88 Anti-Terror Squad, an official says.
National Antiterrorism Agency (BNPT) chief Insp. Gen. (ret) Ansyaad Mbai told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that a regulation outlining the role of the military in the battle against terrorism was nearly complete, and that it had been decided the military would only serve as a backup force for the police.
The police and military are working together under the BNPT, Ansyaad said, but added "when it comes to pursuing, raiding and arresting [terrorists], military personnel will act as a backup".
The military will also be tasked with providing the police with intelligence, which Ansyaad said would be crucial in revealing planned terror attacks.
When the government announced the military would be involved in the country's counterterrorism strategy, several security analysts and human rights proponents voiced concern over what they called the possible return of the military to civilian matters.
Jaleswari Pramodhawardani, a security observer from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said the TNI should not be given the right to interrogate and investigate suspected terrorists. She argued that the TNI had not been trained to deal with operations in civilian areas, and that it had a history of using "harsher" tactics than the police.
She suggested the government provide a clear technical regulation on the authorities of the police and the military in fighting terrorism. "The idea to involve the military is good but to do that we need a clear regulation. Otherwise, it would be counterproductive," she said.
More than a decade after withdrawing from the civilian sphere, last month the military joined the police in raiding and arresting a group of suspected militants believed to be responsible for a bank robbery in Medan and a deadly ambush of the Hamparan Perak Police station in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra, in September. TV coverage showed military officers raiding and arresting terrorist suspects on a plantation in Dolok Masihul, North Sumatra.
Ansyaad said the military's involvement in the North Sumatra operation was legal according to the 2002 Law on the Police and the 2004 law on the Indonesian Military. "The military personnel have been there for a long time, and have helped the police in doing their jobs. There's no problem," he said.
"When we are talking about the regulation, it is only about technical issues that are aimed to make it clearer. It does not necessarily mean that the military cannot work with the police before the regulation is signed."
Observers have linked the establishment of the BNPT to an alleged long-time row between the military and the police. The latter reportedly received a large amount of foreign aid to improve their antiterrorism capacity.
Jaleswari said the rift could hinder cooperation between the institutions, but added that, "under the BNPT, such an issue should no longer exist.