JakartaPost-Oct 6
President Prabowo Subianto marked the anniversary of the Indonesian Military (TNI) on Monday with the expansion of its command structure, as critics raise fresh concern of growing militarization in civic spaces. In the event at the TNI headquarters in East Jakarta, Prabowo inaugurated over 200 new military units, which include six new regional military commands (Kodam) that serve to boost the Army’s territorial defense. The new military commands will cover Yogyakarta, Riau Islands, East Nusa Tenggara, North Maluku, Central Papua and West Nusa Tenggara, areas which were previously covered by neighboring military commands. The addition of new Kodam, now totaling to 27 across the country, was hailed by the Army as an integral restructuring plan for its territorial command to strengthen defense in the country’s border areas and outer islands. The Navy and Air Force also received a handful of new combat battalions during the inauguration, although contrasting in quantity to that of the Army. The Monday ceremony also formalized the expansion of territorial development battalions tasked with food security programs and infrastructure projects, with Prabowo inaugurating 30 new brigades and 150 new battalions months after the Army said it had established them in April. The government previously planned to build a total of 514 territorial development battalions for every regency and city nationwide. Such expansion has since raised concerns over the military’s growing role in activities unrelated to defense responsibilities, with critics pointing to the military’s presence in initiatives ranging from food estate development to the flagship free nutritious meal program. Monday’s inauguration has further exacerbated such fears among experts and activists, who said the latest expansion reflected the military’s ever-increasing role in civilian affairs. “The inauguration of additional Kodam and hundreds of new TNI units is increasingly eroding the civilian sphere and forming the militarization of government as a command state,” Muhamad Isnur, chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid.
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