Indonesia\u2019s parliament has passed controversial changes to legislation that will allow its military a bigger role in government.<\/p>\n
Critics warn that the move could return Indonesia to the dark days of Suharto\u2019s military dictatorship, which lasted 32 years until he was forced out of office in 1998.<\/p>\n
The revisions backed by President Prabowo Subianto \u2013 a former special forces commander and Suharto\u2019s son-in-law \u2013 allow military officers to take up positions in government without first retiring or resigning from the armed forces.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of pro-democracy activists have camped outside parliament since Wednesday evening to protest at the changes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe essence of democracy is that the military should not engage in politics. The military should only manage barracks and national defence,\u201d said Wilson, an activist with the Indonesian Association of Families of the Disappeared (KontraS), a group advocating for activists who disappeared during a crackdown in 1997 and 1998.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince 1998, there has been a creeping murder of democracy. And today marks its peak. Democracy has been killed by the House of Representatives,\u201d Wilson told the BBC.<\/p>\n
The revisions allow active military personnel to hold positions in 14 civilian institutions, up from 10. They also raise retirement age by several years for most ranks. Highest-ranking four-star generals can now serve until 63, up from 60.<\/p>\n
By Thursday evening, the crowd of protesters outside parliament had grown to nearly a thousand. \u201cReturn the military to the barracks!\u201d \u201cAgainst militarism and oligarchy,\u201d read the banners they held.<\/p>\n
Police officers and military personnel stood guard around the protesters.<\/p>\n
While there have been efforts over the past 25 years to limit the military\u2019s involvement in politics and governance, local human rights watchdog Imparsial found that nearly 2,600 active-duty officers were serving in civilian roles even before the law\u2019s revision.<\/p>\n
The changes signal a \u201cbroader consolidation of power\u201d under Prabowo, said Dedi Dinarto, lead Indonesia analyst at public policy advisory firm Global Counsel.<\/p>\n
That the main opposition party endorsed the changes \u2013 despite initial opposition \u2013 further underscores this shift, he noted.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy embedding military perspectives into civilian domains, the legislation could reshape Indonesia\u2019s policy direction, potentially prioritising stability and state control over democratic governance and civil liberties,\u201d Mr Dinarto said.<\/p>\n
The armed forces\u2019 \u201cdual function\u201d, where they are given control of security and administrative affairs, was central to Suharto\u2019s regime.<\/p>\n
For some Indonesians, Prabowo epitomises that authoritarian era. It was he who led the special forces unit accused of abducting activists in 1997 and 1998.<\/p>\n
Many had feared that his return to political power and becoming president would erode Indonesia\u2019s hard-won but fragile democracy.<\/p>\n
Since taking office last October, Prabowo has already been expanding the military\u2019s involvement in public areas. His flagship $4bn free-meal programme for children and pregnant women, for instance, receives logistical support from the armed forces.<\/p>\n
Defending the amendments on Thursday, defence minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin told parliament \u201cgeopolitical changes and global military technology\u201d require the military to transform to tackle \u201cconventional and non conventional conflicts\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will never disappoint the Indonesians in keeping our sovereignty,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
However some rights groups argue that increasing military control in public affairs beyond defence will undermine impartiality.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow can active-duty officers in the Attorney General\u2019s Office remain impartial when they are still bound by military command?\u201d asked Virdika Rizky Utama, a researcher at Jakarta-based think-tank PARA Syndicate, Benar News reports.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the military gains influence over the justice system, who will hold them accountable?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Prabowo appears intent on restoring the Indonesian military\u2019s role in civilian affairs, which were long characterised by widespread abuses and impunity,\u201d said Andreas Harsono, senior Indonesia researcher at Human Rights Watch.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government\u2019s rush to adopt these amendments undercuts its expressed commitment to human rights and accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n
KontraS also noted that the government\u2019s \u201crush to amend the [law] stands in stark contrast to its prolonged inaction on other critical human rights commitments\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis long struggle cannot stop just because the law has been passed. There is only one word: Resist,\u201d said Sukma Ayu, an undergraduate at Universitas Muhammadiyah Prof. Hamka in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will continue protesting until we claim victory\u2026 We have no choice but to occupy the \u2018house of the people\u2019,\u201d she said.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Indonesia\u2019s parliament has passed controversial changes to legislation that will allow its military a bigger role in government. Critics warn that the move could return Indonesia to the dark days of Suharto\u2019s military dictatorship, which lasted 32 years until he was forced out of office in 1998. The revisions backed by President Prabowo Subianto \u2013 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-112228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112228"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112228\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}