Indonesia 's parliament should drop proposed amendments to the 2004 armed forces law that will significantly expand the military's role in civilian governance and weaken legal checks on abusive officials, Human Rights Watch and six Indonesian human rights organizations said today. The National Armed Forces (Tentara Nasional Indonesia) Act, Law No. 34/2004, is to be submitted to the plenary session of the parliament on March 20, 2025, and is expected to come up for vote before the legislative recess begins on March 25.
The draft revisions, which the House of Representatives' Defense and Security Commission has already approved, would enable officials to fill more civilian posts with active-duty military personnel, including in the justice system and state-owned companies. President Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo should call on the parliament to delay a vote and consult with civil society groups to address their concerns, which include the revival of dwifungsi, the military's "dual function" that was central to the authoritarian military rule of President Soeharto from 1965 to 1998.
"President Prabowo appears intent on restoring the Indonesian military's role in civilian affairs, which were long characterized by widespread abuses and impunity," said Andreas Harsono, senior Indonesia researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The government's rush to adopt these amendments undercuts its expressed commitment to human rights and accountability."
The organizations raising the concerns are Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS), Human Rights Watch, Imparsial, Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association, Indonesia Legal Aid Association for Women, Kaki Abu Legal Aid Institute, and Kapal Perempuan.
Currently, military personnel are expected to retire or resign from service before taking civilian positions, except for those in 10 specific ministries and state institutions, including the Ministry of Defense, National Intelligence Agency, the Search and Rescue Agency, and the Supreme Court, where they serve as military judges.
The proposed revisions to the armed forces law would grant the president the authority to appoint military personnel to other offices, such as the Attorney General's Office, National Disaster Mitigation Agency, National Counterterrorism Agency, Indonesian Maritime Security Agency, and the National Agency for Border Management.
"With its rapid and reckless ratification process, this amendment appears intended to reinstate the Indonesian military's 'dual function' in governance," said Dimas Bagus Arya Saputra, the coordinator of KontraS. "The expansion of the armed forces authority in the civilian realm would be a setback for democracy in Indonesia."
Indonesia's military commander, General Agus Subiyanto, has said that the 2004 military law was "outdated and ineffectual" in implementing the fundamental norms of state policies and political decisions. He contended that the amendments would broaden the Indonesian military's noncombat functions, allowing members to serve in institutions that deal with public prosecution, cybersecurity, narcotics enforcement, and other domestic affairs.
Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said that active-duty military personnel would "retire early" and their skills would be tested before being selected for civilian posts. However, a report by Imparsial, a Jakarta-based security and human rights group, found that, even before the amendments were considered, at least 2,569 active-duty officers were serving in civilian roles, some of them outside the legal framework.
A coalition of 186 civil society organizations have started a petition opposing the amendments. KontraS said that some of its members had received threats after they protested against the proposed law earlier in March.
President Prabowo has already appointed several people with deeply concerning rights records to his cabinet, among them are former Special Forces officers involved in the 1998 kidnapping of student activists and Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, who was implicated in the May 1998 crackdown against student demonstrations in Jakarta and gross human rights violations in East Timor in 1999. This raises concerns that the adoption of the revised armed forces law would open the door for current military officers with abusive records to join the government.
"The amendments to the armed forces law, especially expanding the civilian positions that can be occupied by active-duty military personnel, will merely legitimize the appointment of abusive military personnel in the government," said Ardi Manto Adiputra, the director of Imparsial. "The parliament should postpone the amendment as it has the potential to reinstate the military's involvement in the socio-political sphere of civil society."
Under Indonesia's 1997 Law on Military Tribunals, any military personnel, including those in civilian functions, implicated in criminal activity are to be investigated by military authorities and tried, if at all, before a military court rather than a court of general jurisdiction. The military prosecutors and judges report to their respective commanding officers. Indonesia's military justice system has a long history of failing to adequately investigate and prosecute military personnel, especially high-ranking officers, for alleged human rights abuses.
Indonesian women's rights organizations have expressed particular concerns about the proposed amendments because sexual violence and other grave abuses against women by military personnel in the course of their civilian functions would fall under military law enforcement.
"Judicial impartiality is an important component of access to justice for women," said Uli Arta Pangaribuan of the Indonesian Legal Aid Association for Women. "The amendment to the armed forces law, if approved, will mean that the military justice system will be handling cases of violence against women in the civilian sphere."
