Rights groups in Indonesia on Wednesday urged parliament to reject proposed revisions to military laws, warning that the changes could restore military dominance and create legal uncertainty.
The Indonesian parliament is set to pass the bill on Thursday during a plenary session after the parliamentary committee on military affairs approved amendments allowing armed forces personnel to hold more civilian positions. In response, rights groups and student organizations have planned protests outside the parliament.
The Legal Aid Institute, a rights group, criticized the revisions, arguing that they would take Indonesia back 30 years to an era when the late strongman Suharto used the military to control civilian affairs and suppress dissent in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country.
“The revision is a legislative crime that threatens Indonesians and the future of democracy,” said Arif Maulana, the institute’s deputy chair.
Since taking office in October, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, a former special forces commander and Suharto’s former son-in-law, has expanded the military’s role. The government defends the bill, stating that concerns have been addressed by requiring military officers to resign before assuming most civilian roles.
However, opposition lawmaker Nico Siahaan of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle noted that the bill expands the list of agencies where active soldiers can be appointed, including the state secretariat, Attorney General’s Office, and counter-terrorism and narcotics agencies.
Arif warned that placing active military personnel in the Attorney General’s Office could undermine the transparency of legal proceedings involving the armed forces and increase the risk of violence in civilian roles. Amnesty International Indonesia’s Usman Hamid also cautioned that expanding the military’s involvement in civilian affairs could lead to abuses of power, human rights violations, and impunity.
Budi Djiwandono, deputy chief of the committee overseeing the military law bill and Prabowo’s nephew, assured that the government remains committed to civil supremacy. He also dismissed concerns about military involvement in business, stating that active soldiers would not be placed in state-owned companies.
Opposition parties have called for strict monitoring of the law’s implementation to prevent further expansion of military roles, Siahaan added.
