Bagus BT Saragih, Jakarta – An activist criticized former Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. (ret.) Endriartono Sutarto on Wednesday for defending the TNI following a series of crimes in which soldiers have been implicated.

Operational director of human rights watchdog Imparsial, Al Araf, said it was inappropriate for Endriartono to blindly defend the military by saying that crimes committed by soldiers were related to the government's decision to close down military businesses.

"The handing over of military businesses has nothing to do with the criminal acts by soldiers. The decision to end the military's role in business is part of the armed forces' internal reform. A professional military must not do business nor be involved in politics," Al Araf told The Jakarta Post.

He also said that Endriartono's argument that the military businesses had improved soldiers' welfare was unacceptable. "In the past, the businesses mainly benefitted generals and contributed very little to low-ranking soldiers' incomes," Al Araf added.

In an interview with the Post on Tuesday, Endriartono suggested that soldiers committed crimes because the government did not provide enough incentives for them.

"We all know that the state budget, which is the ultimate funding source for the military, cannot provide everything needed by the military, such as proper housing and incentives," said Endriartono, who led the TNI between 2002 and 2006.

He also said that soldiers were depressed as they had been unable to voice their political aspirations after the fall of Soeharto's New Order regime in 1998.

The TNI has been under public scrutiny for a string of crimes implicating its members. The most recent case was the arrest on Monday of Semarang naval base commander Col. Anter Setiabudi by the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) in Semarang, Central Java, for the alleged possession and consumption of crystal methamphetamine and ecstasy pills.

Other incidents include the murder of four inmates by 11 of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) commandos in Yogyakarta and attacks on the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) headquarters by a group of soldiers in Jakarta.

Last week, the Bandung Military Court handed down the death sentence to Second Pvt. Mart Azzanul Ikhwan for the murder of a pregnant woman and her mother in Garut, West Java. (dic)