Hendrik Yaputra, Jakarta – Gina Sabrina, a researcher from Raksha Initiatives, stated that the draft Presidential Regulation concerning the Indonesian National Armed Forces' (TNI) role in combating terrorism is open to broad interpretation. She suspected that demonstrations could be interpreted as acts of terrorism that threaten the state's ideology or sovereignty.
"This means that demonstrations could be considered a threat to the state's ideology or sovereignty," she said during the webinar regarding the problem of the Draft Presidential Regulation involving TNI in handling terrorist actions and the current challenges in eradicating terrorism on Thursday, March 12, 2026.
Article 9 letter i mentions that enforcement can be carried out against other terrorist acts that endanger the state's ideology, sovereignty, territorial defense, and national safety. However, the article does not explain in detail what is meant by a threat to the state's ideology.
Under the principles of legislative formation, as regulated in Law Number 12 of 2011 and updated in 2019, implementing regulations should provide clear provisions and not allow for broad interpretation. According to her, the wide interpretation of the regulation could be freely exploited.
"For example, can this be linked to articles of subversion in the Criminal Code? Or an attack on the head of state. Or articles regarding the spread of ideologies such as Marxism, Leninism, and Communism?" she said.
Gina pointed out that this broad interpretation cannot be separated from Indonesia's current socio-political conditions. The public has become more critical, and there have been large waves of demonstrations in recent years.
She expressed concern that the regulation's broad interpretation could define demonstrations as a threat to the state's ideology or sovereignty. She also highlighted the involvement of the TNI in the demonstrations of August 2025.
"There were even some investigative journalistic reports mentioning the involvement of the military," she said.
She concluded that this article could legitimize TNI intervention in demonstrations by labeling such actions as threats to national safety or ideology.
Furthermore, Sabrina highlighted the absence of clear triggers for military deployment. The draft does not specify the exact conditions under which the TNI would be permitted to intervene.
"In other countries, there are usually clear indicators, for instance, when police capacity is exhausted or when a threat escalates significantly," she explained.
Gina also raised alarms regarding the erosion of civilian oversight. Prior to the revision of the TNI Law, Military Operations Other Than War (OMSP) required a formal state political decision. She views this mechanism as a vital civilian check on military power in a democracy.
However, following the amendment of the TNI Law, OMSP, including counter-terrorism involvement, is now governed solely by Presidential Regulation. Consequently, Gina argues that civilian control has been significantly weakened.
She maintains that any TNI involvement must be accompanied by clear operational objectives, timeframes, unit designations, funding sources, and accountability mechanisms for potential violations. "These elements are not clearly regulated in this draft Presidential Regulation," she said.
Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/2092426/can-protests-be-labeled-terrorism-under-new-tni-decre