Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – New York-based Human Rights Watch on Friday urged the Indonesian government to take over all military-owned businesses in a bid to make the country's armed forces more professional and to minimize rights abuses.

"Three years after the enactment of Law No. 34/2004 on the TNI, no companies have been taken over even though the law only gives five years to complete the takeover," Human Rights Watch researcher Charmain Mohamed said during the launch in Jakarta of a report on human rights in Indonesia.

The report is an Indonesian version of a 159-page report first published in June 2006: Too High a Price: The Human Rights Costs of the Indonesian Military's Economic Activities.

Based on a two-year survey, the report details the military's long practice of involvement in business to finance its activities.

"When the report was published last June, numerous high-ranking government officials expressed their agreement that the involvement of military personnel in the economy has weakened civilian control and encouraged human rights violations, crimes and corruption. "But, now, no action has been taken in this matter," said Charmain.

She also questioned the indefinite postponement by an inter-ministerial team of the government's takeover of military-owned businesses, saying the government appeared to be buying time in the hope people would forget the issue.

"President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono should take a leading position in accomplishing internal reform in the military as a preliminary requirement for strengthening democratic institutions and improving human rights protection in the country," she said.

The coordinator of the Committee for Human Rights Victims, Usman Hamid, who attended the report's launch, asked why the government only planned to take control of some 1,000 military-owned business units with total assets of Rp 1 trillion (US$111 million).

"We are sure there are more than 1,000 military-run businesses and that they have assets of more than Rp 1 trillion. But even the takeover of these businesses has been suspended," he said.

Charmain and Usman said the government should take control of all military businesses, including cooperatives, and allocate an adequate defense budget to create a professional armed forces, as mandated by the law.

They also asked the government to phase out the military's territorial function and liquidate all military networks in the regions, including military commands, resorts and posts. They said this would sever their ties with politics and business.

"The House has endorsed a number of laws to speed up internal reform in the military but the President has yet to show his political will to enforce the laws," said Usman.