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| military of the indonesian republic |
President
Joko Widodo reportedly agreed to a proposal to expand the army’s territorial
command in West Papua. The army proposed two more territorial commands (Kodam)
in eastern Indonesia. One is in Manado and the other is in Manokwari, the
capital city of Papua Barat province. The navy will also expand its command by
adding an Armada Command (Komando Armada Tengah) in Makassar. TNI also
proposed to revive Komando Gabungan Pertahanan (Joint Defense Command)
which is similar to Komando Wilayah Pertahanan (defense territorial
command) or Kowilhan. The Kowilhan was established in 1969, and
then eradicated in 1984 during the reorganization of the Indonesian military.
The TNI chief, Gen. Moeldoko, said that he also plans to revive the position of
territorial assistant for the navy and air force.
President
Joko Widodo is the fourth civilian president of the reformation era. Three of
his civilian predecessors have never served full term in the office. All of
those civilian presidents had to deal with the military and in fact it became
their biggest challenge. President Widodo too has to confront the same problem.
The three presidents were approaching the military differently. President
Habibie chose to defy the military completely when he decided to grant
referendum to East Timor. President Abdurrahman Wahid chose a more
confrontational approach. He often intervened in the military’s internal affairs.
President Megawati Sukarnoputri took a very different approach. She gave a
‘blank check’ to the military. She appointed the ultra-nationalist officer Gen.
Ryamizard Ryacudu as the army chief of staff. Under her
administration, the military was given permission to launch huge operations in
Aceh in order to crush the rebellion. Many of Megawati’s military men are now
parts of the Jokowi’s administration.
With the hardliners dominate his
administration, we can expect that Jokowi will apply a more nationalistic
approach in confronting the West Papua problem. Meanwhile, President Widodo
promised "to solve" West Papua's problems in his campaign. He won the
region handily during the election. However, will he make good of his promises?
How will he handle the security forces in West Papua? Can he change the
security situation in the region and give Papuans the human rights protection
that they deserve?
This article shows the networks of
Indonesia's security forces in West Papua. It will be hard for President Widodo
to keep his promises to the people of West Papua and at the same time
accommodate security interests (and the other interests that come with it) of
the military and police. As we shall see, Indonesian security forces in West
Papua have grown every year. Meanwhile, security problems in the region are not
declining.***Black-FoX
Resource : On-line Media and ETAN
Resource : On-line Media and ETAN