Sat, May 30, 2015 page9

• Indonesia’s Widodo calls on military amid judicial struggles

  In what is said to be an internal struggle for power, the president’s action has drawn concern that the military might take over where the police have jurisdiction

  • By Kanupriya Kapoor and Randy Fabi / Reuters, JAKARTA
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  Nearly two decades after Indonesia’s military was squeezed out of civilian affairs with the downfall of former Indonesian president Suharto, Indonesian President Joko Widodo is drawing the army more closely into his wars on drugs, terrorism and corruption.

  Indonesian government and military officials said Widodo’s move is partly designed to counterbalance senior police officers who have crossed swords with him and who, critics say, are trying to undermine the agency leading the campaign against graft.

  The police acknowledge “problems” in their relationship with Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission, but say they are working with the agency to tackle graft.

  The prospect of a greater role for the Indonesian military in civilian matters does not presage a return to the authoritarianism of Suharto, when it oversaw government policy as well as providing national security, the officials said.

  Indeed, Indonesian National Armed Forces Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Moeldoko has sought to quell such concerns.

  “As long as the military is needed by the country to safeguard the national development carried out by ministries, then go ahead, but nobody should try to drag the military into politics,” Moeldoko, who is to retire in July, told reporters this month.

  Nevertheless, critics of Widodo’s move fear it sets a dangerous precedent in a country where the military has a long tradition of involvement in politics and which directly elected a president for the first time only 11 years ago.

  “While symbolic engagement with the military is important to get things done and to send a signal of stability, we’re treading a dangerous line here,” Center for Strategic and International Studies political analyst Tobias Basukik said. “In the long term it will create a new Goliath within Indonesian politics if the military doesn’t steer clear of civilian life.”

  A senior government official with direct knowledge of the matter told reporters that Widodo, the first president from outside Indonesia’s political elite or armed forces, has struggled to assert himself over the police force and its political patrons, who include senior figures in his own party.

  He trusts the military more than the police and sees it as a potentially counterbalancing force, the official said.

  The army’s expansion into civilian affairs began last month, with the first major counterterrorism operation since the response to a spate of hotel bombings in Jakarta in 2009. Antiterrorism efforts are traditionally the domain of the police.

  Approved by Widodo, who came to power in October last year, the military launched the six-month exercise to crack down on militants with suspected links to the Islamic State group, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

  This month, the armed forces signed a memorandum of understanding to help Indonesia’s main anti-narcotics agency with its war on drugs, a top priority for Widodo.

  Government officials said they are considering legislative changes that would allow serving military officers to work in state ministries and agencies.

  The Indonesian ministries of Transportation, and Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, which handle projects and industries steeped in corruption, have asked that military personnel join their staff.

  “If these requests are to be fulfilled, they should not violate any law,” Indonesian Cabinet Secretary Andi Widjajanto told reporters.

  The Corruption Eradication Commission has taken the unprecedented step of seeking the military’s assistance after being severely weakened by a tit-for-tat dispute with the police.

  Moeldoko said he already had two officers in mind to join the commission after they retired from service in a few months.

  The agency, popular with ordinary citizens for going after Indonesia’s moneyed elites, hopes the military’s inclusion would protect it from police intervention.

  Commission officials were not immediately available for comment.

  Since the commission declared a prominent police general a corruption suspect in January, the police has launched a series of investigations against the agency, leading to the suspension of two of its commissioners.

  The commission has since dropped its case against Indonesian Police General Budi Gunawan, who was subsequently named deputy head of the police.

  The police do not see the expansion of the military’s powers as a threat.

  “We don’t at all think the military is a threat to us or our role in society. We don’t think there is any sort of balancing going on,” Indonesian police spokesman Agus Rianto said.

  He also said the police would investigate complaints of corruption made against it, adding: “To say there is a public perception that the police is corrupt is not accurate.”

  Activists said allowing the military to help fight corruption might be an effective stop-gap measure to shore up the commission, but it threatens to leave the military itself immune to graft investigations.

  The military has a history of acquiring strategic assets, especially in the resources sector. Suharto was reported to have a sprawling business empire worth US$15 billion when he resigned in 1998.

  “The consequence is that the military will be untouchable in corruption investigations,” Indonesia Corruption Watch deputy coordinator Adnan Topan Husodo said.

  Additional reporting by John Chalmers
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