Rejection of TNI Law Revision Strengthens

JAKARTA, KOMPAS - Opposition to the decision by the DPR and the government to revise Law Number 34 of 2004 concerning the TNI is intensifying. Instead of strengthening, the proposed amendments in the Draft Law on changes to the TNI Law or the TNI Bill are believed to weaken the professionalism of the TNI. The revision is also considered to lack urgency for the transformation of the TNI.

This time, opposition to the revision of the TNI Law comes from a coalition of civil society and several public figures. They have even issued a petition calling for the rejection of the discussion on the TNI Bill.

The petition containing a call to reject the revision of the TNI Law was read at the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) building, Menteng, Central Jakarta, Monday (17/3/2025). Present at the reading of the petition were representatives from various civil society organizations such as Kontras, Imparsial, YLBHI, Amnesty International Indonesia, Gebrak, Centra Initiative, Greenpeace ID, Bijak Memilih, ELSAM, LBH Pers, and TII. Also in attendance were several prominent figures, including Sulistyowati Irianto, Sumarsih, Sukidi, Khalifa Hatta, and Sumita Notosutanto.

Through the petition, they stated that the list of problem inventory (DIM) for the TNI Bill is problematic due to several proposed amendments that have the potential to revive militarism or the dual function of the TNI. This is because there is no urgency to amend the TNI Law. Moreover, instead of strengthening it, the revision of the TNI Law could actually weaken military professionalism.

"The TNI is trained, educated and prepared for war, not for non-defense functions, such as sitting in civilian positions," said Sulistyowati.

The placement of military personnel in civilian positions also carries the risk of creating problems. These range from the exclusion of civilians from civilian roles, military dominance in the civilian sphere, to the potential emergence of dual loyalties. One example of the dual function of the military, which according to civil society groups arises in the revision of the Military Law, is the placement of military personnel in the Attorney General's Office, which is a law enforcement institution.

The TNI is trained, educated and prepared for war, not for non-defense functions, such as holding civilian positions.

Instead of revising the Military Law, the civil society coalition believes that, in the context of security reform, the government and the House of Representatives should revise Law Number 31 of 1997 concerning Military Courts. This agenda is important as it constitutes the constitutional obligation of the state to uphold the principle of equality before the law for all citizens.

"Military justice reform is a mandate of MPR Decree No. VII of 2000 and the TNI Law," said Sukidi.

The civil society coalition demands that violations of the Military Law (UU TNI) be addressed. Furthermore, they urge active military personnel holding positions outside those stipulated in Article 47, paragraph 2 of the Military Law to immediately resign or take early retirement.

The coalition also urged that various collaborations or memorandums of understanding with the military, which allow the military to enter the civilian domain, be reviewed. The reason is that they are not in accordance with the Military Law.

Regarding the TNI Bill, the civil society coalition rejects the expansion of military duties to handle narcotics. Reflecting on the Philippines, military involvement will lead to excessive violence.

"Involving the TNI in handling narcotics as regulated in the TNI Bill will make the TNI vulnerable to becoming a perpetrator of human rights violations, as happened in the case of Duterte's arrest in the Philippines by the ICC," said Muhammad Isnur.

On the other hand, the civil society coalition assessed that the revision of the TNI Law would also legitimize the mobilization and expansion of TNI soldiers into domestic issues, such as free nutritious meals (MBG), food security, guarding palm oil plantations, implementing National Strategic Projects (PSN), and managing the hajj pilgrimage. On the other hand, the coalition urged the government and the DPR to modernize TNI defense equipment, improve the welfare of TNI soldiers, and pay attention to gender balance in the TNI organization.

On that occasion, the civil society coalition criticized the discussion of the TNI Bill which was held at the Fairmont Hotel which is a private place, instead of in the DPR Building. This shows that the discussion of the TNI Bill was carried out behind closed doors.

Regarding the reporting of activists who demonstrated at the Fairmont Hotel on Saturday (15/3/2025) to the Polda Metro Jaya, the coalition considered it an attempt to silence freedom of expression and a legislative crime. Instead of being rejected by the police, the report was accepted.

"So this is an orchestration. This is an authoritarian character, an anti-criticism character. Today we immediately made a power of attorney and made a letter of objection to the summons," said Isnur.

Meanwhile, despite the growing rejection, the DPR and the government continue to discuss the revision of the TNI Law. Both the DPR and the government have emphasized that the revision of the TNI Law will not interfere with civilian supremacy.

Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi, for example, denied allegations that the revision of the TNI Law was an attempt to restore ABRI's dual function as in the New Order era. The controversial article containing the President's authority to place active TNI soldiers in civilian positions as needed is no longer there.

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Sufmi Dasco Ahmad also emphasized that the revision of the TNI Law was not carried out to revive the dual function of the TNI. According to him, the discussion of the revision of the TNI Law so far has only focused on three articles, namely Article 3, Article 47, and Article 53. These articles are not to expand the authority of the TNI in the public domain and are instead to strengthen this military institution from within.