Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – After a one-month break, the deliberation of a bill on military tribunals resumed Wednesday with the government proposing that officers from the Indonesian Military (TNI) and military police be allowed to interrogate soldiers for committing civilian crimes.
The chairperson of the House of Representatives' working committee deliberating the bill, Azlaeni Agus, confirmed that the director general of defense strength at the Defense Ministry, Maj. Gen. Suryadi, has made several new proposals for the bill. Azlaeni declined, however, to reveal the requests due to internal House rulings prohibiting the disclosure of such information.
"The government's suggestions will be discussed in the committee's internal meeting in Bogor on Friday through to Sunday before being discussed with the government next week," Azlaeni said.
Sources at the committee claim, however, that the government and TNI are seeking to empower military officers and military police investigators in the bill by permitting them to interrogate soldiers who have committed civilian crimes. The two parties are also requesting that all usage of the word "soldiers" in the bill be replaced with "military".
The proposals drew immediate and vigorous opposition from committee members, who said they ran counter to the reform agenda and the concept of civilian supremacy over the military.
Andreas Pareira of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle said his faction would reject the proposals out of respect for the pledge made by the House and the President to have military criminals tried before civilian courts.
"Consequently, military criminals will be interrogated by police officers, prosecuted by civilian prosecutors and tried by civilian judges at civilian courts. Neither military officers nor military prosecutors should be involved in civilian legal proceedings," he said, emphasizing that soldiers who have committed a civilian crime should be handled by civilian law enforcers, prosecuted in accordance with the Criminal Code and tried in civilian courts.
Andreas, who is also chairman of the special committee deliberating the bill with Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono, said the term "soldiers" could not be swapped with "military" because the latter infers that military institutions could stand trial in place of individual criminals.
"TNI cannot be embodied by individual military criminals whose acts are shouldered by their institution and it is impossible for the court to try institutions in the TNI," he said.
Effendi Choirie of the National Awakening Party concurred. He said the proposals indicated that TNI had half-heartedly and involuntarily acknowledged civilian supremacy in the bill. "TNI should accept and respect the equality of all citizens, including servicemen, before the law. The rule of law gives no privilege to a certain group of citizens," he said, making special reference to Law No. 34/2004 on TNI.
However, Yunus Yosfiah of the United Development Party downplayed the proposals, which he said would not effect the bill. "I found no new things in the proposals," he said, adding that the working committee should focus on other technical aspects of the long-awaited bill to see it approved and enforced as soon as possible.
Yunus, who is former chief of TNI's now-defunct territorial affairs office and former information minister, said he is skeptical about whether police could overcome the "psychological hurdle" of investigating military criminals due to their past military ties. "Also, because law violations are still rampant among police personnel."