James Balowski, Jakarta – Ignoring widespread public opposition, the Indonesian armed forces (TNI) has announced it is reactivating its territorial command network down to the village level to "assist" local communities and police to "fight terrorism".
The plan to revive territorial commands, or Koter, was hastily drawn up after the October 1 suicide bombings in Bali and follows a request by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for the TNI to actively take part in the "war on terror".
Speaking after a cabinet meeting on November 7, TNI chief General Endriartono Sutarto said that the village-level military intelligence units headed by non-commissioned officers, known as Babinsa, would be used to gather information to help prevent acts of terrorism. "I recently issued circulars to all regional military commands, asking them to reinstate Babinsa. They don't have the authority to make arrests, but to tap information from people", Sutarto told reporters on November 7.
Under the 32-year military regime of General Suharto, Koter allowed the TNI to play a political role at all levels of society. Thousands of Babinsa acted as the regime's eyes and ears in towns and villages and the system was used to quash all forms of dissent, leading to rampant human rights abuses. Although the TNI has resisted calls for Koter to be dismantled, Babinsa's role was scrapped following Suharto's overthrow in 1998.
Defence and intelligence analysts have repeatedly blamed poor coordination between intelligence units and unpopular government policies for the string of terrorist attacks in Indonesia over the last three years. Top politicians and human rights groups have warned that reactivating Koter will return Indonesia to the era of military control over politics that existed under Suharto's "New Order" regime.
The November 9 Jakarta Post reported that Usman Hamid, coordinator of the National Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of the Violence, warned that the repression of the New Order was being revived in the name of "counter-terrorism". "There is no need to revive the territorial role [of the TNI]", Hamid said.
Sutarto has shrugged off such criticisms, saying the Babinsa will only be a "back up" to the police to prevent acts of terrorism.
Although Sutarto did not say when the Babinsa's duties would begin, the TNI says about 37,000 non-commissioned officers across Indonesia are ready to take part in the system. According to Jakarta military commander Major General Agustadi Sasongko Purnomo, 1710 Babinsa are being reactivated throughout the city to cooperate with local police in organising neighbourhood "security patrols".
According to local media sources, on November 1 each of the 11 regional military commands also set up an anti-terrorism desk to compile data and liaise with police. Speaking with the Jakarta daily Kompas on November 7, Brigadier General Hotmangaradja Pandjaitan, the head of the army's information office, said the desks would be set up at every level from Kodam (regional military command), to Korem (military command at a level below the region), Kodim (district military command) and Koramil (sub-district military command). They will have the power to detain people suspected of terrorist activities but must then immediately hand them over to the police.
On a more ominous note, Lieutenant-Colonel Agus Subroto, the head of the TNI's Diponegoro VII military district command, said strike force platoons had been set up at 36 Kodims in Central Java. "Meanwhile, one company of troops is prepared at the level of military unit command", Subroto told the November 8 Tempo Interactive. Subroto added that the combat troops were not just prepared for dealing with terrorist acts but also for police backup for other unspecified "security" purposes.