Kafil Yamin – Students in Indonesia say they are feeling threatened by the presence of military personnel arriving unannounced on campus since the passing of a national military law last month, which extends the military's reach into civilian positions – a move widely opposed by students at the time.
Many fear that the military's campus presence is for the purpose of surveilling students and monitoring discussions and could curb free speech.
Al Araf, a senior researcher and chairperson of the Centra Initiative, a non-government organisation in Jakarta that promotes democracy and security issues, sees the intensifying visits by military personnel to university campuses as the direct impact of Indonesia's new military regulation, which, he said, threatens academic freedom and intimidates students.
"Under the new regulation, the scope of military authority expands to what in Bahasa Indonesia (the Indonesian language) is called Operasi Militer Selain Perang (OMSP) – in English, Military Operations Other Than War. Now, they feel they have a legal basis to watch and monitor what students are doing," Al Araf told University World News this week.
The new law modifies the article governing OMSP from the previous law "based on state political policy and decisions" to "based on government regulation or presidential regulation". The result is that the decision to launch an OMSP now entirely rests with the executive power, he said.
"In the previous military regulation, OMSP previously had to obtain House [of Representatives] approval. This is no longer needed. It undermines democracy and civil society," he added.
Military on campuses
Students are alarmed by the reported instances of military personnel on campuses.
On 16 April, as members of the University of Indonesia's Student Executive Body (BEM) were holding a discussion on the current political situation in Indonesia, a car with military markings and number plates manoeuvred into a parking spot on campus.
Several men in military uniform got out and proceeded to a cafeteria near the discussion venue, students said.
One of the men was later identified as Colonel Iman Widhiarto, chief of the Military District Area of Depok, a southern suburb of Jakarta. He claimed in local media he had been invited by an unnamed student for a discussion.
A member of the military also came to a student discussion at the State Islamic University (UIN) of Walisongo, Semarang, Central Java, on 23 April, causing surprise, fear and confusion as to how to handle the situation among students engaged in discussion there.
After UIN Walisongo student newspaper Justicia reported on the "visit", student journalists received a warning from the military visitor telling them to withdraw the report or face legal consequences.
"The man said if we do not withdraw the report, he will drag us to court, based on the technology and information law," Wati, one of the student journalists, told University World News on 1 May.
A month earlier, on 24 March, the Student Executive Body of Jenderal Soedirman University (Unsoed) in Central Java received an invitation from the nearby Banyumas Military District Area for a meeting at the university's rectorate building in order to receive "clear and official" information about the newly passed military law.
"But what happened in the meeting was that the military investigated the demonstration we held three days earlier against military intervention in student affairs, in the guise of 'socialisation of military law'. They even demanded that we apologise for the demonstration," BEM Unsoed said via its Instagram social media account.
Request for data on students
On 25 March, the administration of the town of Merauke in South Papua Province received a letter from the Merauke Military District Area requesting data on students. The letter said it sought to cooperate on defence and security issues with local students.
"With all respect, we ask for data on which cities Papua students are pursuing their studies and which student organisations are under the Merauke administration authority," according to the letter cited in a 26 April report by the BBC News Bahasa Indonesia service.
Stanly, a Merauke student, said he was suspicious of military moves to control student movement in the area because "we protested against a number of national strategic projects in our area with student demonstrations on the streets, church gatherings and discussions and seminars," he said, speaking on the campus of Musamus University in Merauke.
Stanly noted that following the 25 March letter, unidentified men often came to student dormitories in Merauke, seemingly to watch student activities. "We didn't recognise them. But we know from their physical bearing that they were military men," he said.
Feeling threatened, a number of Merauke students sought help from the Papua Legal Aid Institute, an NGO that has stated that the military had no authority to collect such data, which is handled by civilian authorities, including the statistics agency and population registry.
'Exaggerated fears'
Higher Education, Science and Technology Minister Brian Yuliarto said the fear of military intervention in university affairs was exaggerated and that universities should be "open spaces".
"The university is an open space for other parties, including the military, to engage in cooperation and seek mutual benefit," Yuliarto told a House meeting in Jakarta on 23 April, adding that "universities and the military can become partners and work together in research, academic forums and joint lectures".
Openness will bring joint innovations that in turn result in the best products of the nation, Yuliarto added, before noting: "The military has defence technologies and is pursuing an independent arms industry. Universities can help in this area."
Higher education ministry officials have even said the military could potentially serve as guest lecturers. However, the ministry's secretary general, Togar Mangihut Simatupang, said this week fears over normalising military power in academic spaces were unfounded.
The military's presence in universities would be limited to "sharing insights" on national defence and defence technology, not curbing academic or political discourse, he said.
The Indonesian Army's information division head, Brigadier General Wahyu Yudhayana, denied accusations of militarisation, saying in a written statement on 20 April that military involvement on campuses was based on invitations or formal cooperation agreements.
"The presence of the Army on campuses has always been based on legitimate cooperation, is educational, and is done by invitation or coordination with the campus," Yudhayana stated.
However, some student groups have said such cooperation agreements are unclear on the scope of military involvement and its implications for academic freedom and institutional autonomy.
Source: https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=2025050209080119