TNI Involved in Handling Terrorism Risking Democracy
JAKARTA - Researcher of the Institute for Security and Strategic Studies (ISESS), Bambang Rukminto, assessed that the involvement of the TNI in handling terrorism risks overlapping authority with the National Police and opening the space for the return of the New Order-style security approach that endangers democracy.
According to him, there is a fundamental difference between the roles of the TNI and the National Police, where the TNI has the main mandate in the field of national defense, while the National Police carries out security and law enforcement functions. In the context of terrorism, which has been positioned as a security and criminal problem, the approach that should be used is law enforcement, not a militaristic approach.
"If terrorism is approached with a war paradigm, then what emerges is no longer a legal process, but the logic of the enemy who must be eliminated. This is different from the approach of the National Police which places terrorism as a crime that must be processed through the criminal justice mechanism," said Bambang, Sunday, February 15.
He revealed that the policy of involving the TNI has the potential to encourage excessive securitization of terrorism issues. Instead of strengthening the role of law enforcement by the National Police, this policy is considered to be able to expand the role of the military into the realm of internal security. If left to develop without clear limits, this situation can erode the principles of the rule of law and democracy.
"The military approach risks damaging the criminal justice system because due process of law can be ignored. This is contrary to the substance of the rule of law state which upholds the legal process, accountability, and protection of human rights," he said.
Bambang suspects that the idea of involving the TNI in handling terrorism is inseparable from the experience of handling armed violence in Papua which is considered not effective. However, policy makers must understand that this policy cannot be generalized to all regions of Indonesia.
Because the involvement of the TNI in Papua was born from the assumption that there were limitations to law enforcement officers in dealing with armed groups. Thus, the expansion of the military's role in the field of internal security must be strictly limited so that it does not spread to other areas and does not blur the institutional role between the TNI and the National Police.
"Maintaining the corridor of the respective roles of each institution is the key. The TNI must remain in the function of national defense, while the National Police carries out the role of security and law enforcement. A clear division of roles is the key to maintaining democracy and the rule of law in Indonesia," concluded Bambang.