Jakarta – The Army chief of staff Gen. Mulyono welcomed President Joko "Widodo" Widodo's call to involve the Indonesian Military (TNI) in the country's war against terrorism, saying that the military would be ready to hunt down terrorists.
"Most importantly, the TNI is ready to be involved in any situation," he said at the Army headquarters in Central Jakarta on Tuesday as reported by kompas.com.
Jokowi said on Monday that the TNI could be granted a role in the revision of 2003 Terrorism Law to help the National Police prevent any terrorism following the bomb attacks in Kampung Melayu, East Jakarta, last week.
Mulyono did not give details on the roles that the TNI wanted mentioned in the law. However, he stressed that the TNI's involvement was needed in counterterrorism efforts. Once involved, the TNI was ready to hunt down terrorists in forests or in any remote areas.
"[We will hunt them] wherever they are, like in the forests. It's refreshing for military personnel to have duties in the forest – just like Idul Fitri," he said.
TNI personnel had been involved as back-ups in the police's large Operation Tinombala, organized to hunt down the notorious East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) terrorist group lead by Santoso in Poso, Central Sulawesi. The operation managed to kill Santoso last year and narrowed the number and movement of the terrorist group members who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State movement.
The authority for detention and investigation in counterterrorism efforts currently lies with the National Police. (rin)