Jakarta – The human rights monitor, Imparsial, says it is willing to support the provision of the right to vote to individual members of the military as early as the 2014 election if the military reforms its tribunal system to prevent abuse of power and ensure that justice is done.

Al-Araf, Imparsial's program director, said Tuesday that before the state granted the military members the right to vote, it would have to ensure that they were bound by civil law like any other citizen.

"For instance, if military members carry out violent actions against civilians, they will have to be tried at a civil court, not at the military court," he told reporters at the Imparsial office in Jakarta.

He added that the current military court system was prone to abuse of power, because all legal processes, from investigation to trial, were carried out by military officers. He said that the military tribunals were the source of the military's impunity in the face of any charges of wrongdoing under the law.

"The effort to reform the military court system has stagnated. The Justice and Human Rights Ministry has not even included the amendment of the Military Tribunal Law into this year's national legislation program," Al-Araf said. (rdf)