SETARA Demands Prabowo Investigate Alleged TNI Members Who Obstructed Corruption Investigation

JAKARTA - Chairman of the National Board of SETARA Institute, Hendardi, urged President Prabowo Subianto to immediately intervene in response to the alleged involvement of a number of TNI members who were said to have obstructed the law enforcement process in the investigation of alleged corruption cases by the National Police's Corruption Eradication Task Force (Kortas Tipikor) and the Ditreskrimsus Polda Metro Jaya.

According to Hendardi, if the allegations are true to protect the party who is being investigated or suspected of being involved in corruption cases related to a person in the Attorney General's Office, then the issue is no longer merely about intervening in the legal process.

"What is being shown to the public is not only an intervention in the law enforcement process, but the use of the state defense institution as a shield for the interests of corruptors. This is a betrayal of the state in terms of strengthening state sovereignty, respect for civil supremacy, and national agendas to eradicate corruption," said Hendardi in his statement, Thursday, July 9.

He emphasized that based on the provisions of the legislation, there was no authority for TNI members to obstruct the investigation and search actions carried out by law enforcement officials in accordance with applicable legal procedures.

According to Hendardi, the involvement of military personnel to protect those suspected of committing corruption is a very dangerous form of abuse of authority.

"Corruption is an extraordinary crime that gnaws at the country's joints. When the armed forces are actually used to secure the interests of corrupt perpetrators, then the threat faced is no longer just corruption, but collusion between power, impunity, and the coercive power of the state," he said.

Hendardi assessed that the incident was also a warning regarding the risk of the military's widespread involvement in various civilian affairs.

He said that in recent years the TNI has been increasingly involved in various sectors outside the defense function, ranging from food security, education, law enforcement, to various other government functions.

"Instead of strengthening governance, the expansion of the role creates room for abuse of authority, jurisdictional conflicts, and the use of military force to protect interests unrelated to defense tasks," he said.

According to Hendardi, the alleged obstruction of the investigation of the corruption case shows the blurring of the boundaries between the functions of defense and civil law enforcement, which has the potential to open up room for intervention in legal processes.

Therefore, he asked the government and the DPR to evaluate various policies that expand the involvement of the TNI in civil affairs and return the institution to its constitutional mandate as a means of defense of the state under the principle of civilian supremacy.

Hendardi also asked the President to immediately order the TNI Commander to investigate the alleged involvement of its members, open the results of the examination to the public, and impose criminal and disciplinary sanctions if proven to have occurred.

"The President must be held accountable and immediately intervene by ordering the TNI Commander to thoroughly investigate the alleged involvement of its members, opening the results of the examination to the public, and ensuring that any member who is proven to hinder the legal process is subject to criminal and disciplinary sanctions firmly," he said.

In addition, Hendardi emphasized that the police should not stop the investigation process if there is evidence of obstruction of justice.

"Any act of obstruction of justice, whoever the perpetrator, must be processed according to law so that it does not become a precedent that armed forces can be used to intervene in corruption cases," he said.

He added, the President also needs to ensure that no TNI members are used to hinder law enforcement on alleged corruption involving state officials.

"The President must ensure that the TNI is fully back to its function of defending the country and not dragged into practices that protect the interests of individuals, groups, or elites who face the law. Allowing the military apparatus to become a protector of corruptors is tantamount to allowing the rule of law to be defeated by the politics of power that ignores the main role of the National Police, Prosecutor's Office, TNI, and KPK according to their respective duties and functions," concluded Hendardi.

If desired, this news can also be made with a sharper focus on "Hendardi: Alleged Obstruction of Investigation of Evidence of the Danger of Militarization of the Civil Space" or "SETARA Demands the TNI Commander to Investigate the Person Allegedly Protecting the Corruptor."