Jakarta – The Indonesia Military (TNI) insists military officers suspected of committing public crimes will be processed by military investigators and tried at military court despite the pressure from activists to implement a civilian legal process for military officers charged with civilian crimes.

The dispute about whether the civilian investigators can probe military officers allegedly committing crimes has triggered the stalemate in the four-year protracted military tribunal bill.

TNI spokesman Air Rear Marshal Sagom Tamboen told The Jakarta Post in a statement sent Thursday that military officers gained "different legal positions" compared to civilians, and therefore, deserved specialized legal treatment if suspected of committing both military or public offenses.

"Activists may have not learned our constitution comprehensively. The 'equality before the law' principle doesn't mean that every Indonesian citizen must be treated by the same legal process. The principle implies that every citizen, both military and civilian, is obligated to obey the law."

According to Sagom, military officers are distinct citizens and have privileges before the public.

Director of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) Usman Hamid disagreed Friday with Sagom. "His idea is very conservative, obsolete, and no longer fits our current democracy system," he told the Post.

Usman said military officers suspected of committing public crimes must face public legal treatment. "If they are suspected of committing military offenses, then go to the military court."

According to Usman, the principle of "equality before the law" fitted the military officers who were charged with public crimes. "Pak Sagom may misunderstand the concept. Everyone, without exception, charged with public crimes must face public legal process."

Usman said that implementing the military legal process to officers suspected of offending public crimes, might be unjust for the low-ranked soldiers.

"The military police, prosecutors, and judges may be not as the same rank level as the suspects. Are they brave enough to equally treat the top-ranked suspects? No way."

He cited the 1998 activists kidnapping case, where only low-ranked soldiers faced trial and were found guilty. "If we stay with that system, all top-ranked officers would remain untouched."

According to Sagom, military legal treatment as well as military investigators, prosecutors, and judges, are supposed to be considered the same as civilian ones. "We have never implemented inequality in military legal process."

Usman denied Sagom's statement. "We have recorded that the police arrested military officers allegedly involved in several illegal logging and illegal fishing cases. They later handed over all military suspects to the military police. And what happened then? The military suspects, particularly the top-ranked ones, have remained unhampered."

Lawmaker Djoko Susilo, from the House of Representatives' Commission I on defense, said recently the TNI insisted on their stance and were reluctant to be investigated by the police due to defending their "prestige".

History has prompted the military to be "psychologically jealous" of the police, Djoko said. (bbs)