Indonesian Students to Hold Protest at Palace Today Rejecting Changes to Military, Police Law

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The All-Indonesian Student Executive Body or BEM SI will stage a protest against the revision of the Military (TNI) and Police Law in Jakarta today, July 30. The rally is scheduled to begin at noon with a long march from IRTI Monas (National Monument) to the center of the action at the State Palace.

BEM SI Central Coordinator Satria Naufal said in an official release on Tuesday that this action, dubbed "Reformati Week," is a symbol of the Jokowi regime's failure to fulfill its reform mandate. 

Satra argued that the content of the two proposed amendments to the law was riddled with problems, making it unreasonable to legalize them.

BEM UPN Yogyakarta chairman Anas Robbani said that 200 people from UB, Unpad, Unikom, Unnes, Unnes, UPN Yogyakarta and various campuses in Jakarta would participate in the action.

In a plenary session on May 28, the House of Representatives approved the revision of Law 34/2004 on the TNI as a proposal from the Council. The plenary session also ratified the revision of Law 2/2002 on the National Police as a proposal by the DPR.

The DPR received the President's letter regarding the revision of the TNI Law and the Polri Law on Monday, July 8, 2024. The government has 60 days to prepare a Problem Inventory List (DIM) and submit it to the DPR. After receiving the DIM, the DPR will set a schedule for discussion.

The director of Imparsial, Ghufron Mabruri, highlighted the revised draft in Article 47 paragraph 2 of the TNI Law, which seeks to expand the position of TNI personnel in ministries and institutions. This article proposes that active soldiers can hold positions in ministries and other institutions that require the energy and expertise of active soldiers in accordance with presidential policy.

The addition of this phrase, he said, creates a way for active TNI soldiers to be stationed outside the 10 ministries and institutions mentioned in the TNI law. In other words, in the future, the president could issue a policy that would allow the deployment of active TNI soldiers in a number of other ministries, such as the Ministry of Villages, the Ministry of Religion, the Ministry of Home Affairs and other state institutions.

According to Ghufron, this article legitimizes the doctrine of ABRI (Indonesian Armed Forces, the former name of the TNI) dual-function practices that took place during the era of President Joko Widodo's administration. The Indonesian Ombudsman found that at least 27 TNI members were now actively serving in state-owned enterprises.

HENDRIK YAPUTRA

Editor's Choice: UGM Says News of BEM Chair Gielbran Expelled for Criticizing Jokowi Hoax

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News