JakartaPost/Kompas-Apr 21
The presence of Indonesian Military (TNI) members at two university student gatherings last week has further raised concerns about the growing threat to academic and civic freedom in the country. The University of Indonesia’s (UI) student body held a gathering on April 16 at the university’s student activity center in Depok, on the outskirts of Jakarta, where a TNI member in full uniform was spotted in the vicinity. The soldier reportedly did not have any direct interaction with the discussion but pictures of him shaking hands with students quickly went viral. University spokesperson Arie Afriansyah said the rectorate had granted permission for Wednesday’s gathering but that it did not invite any military personnel. “UI respects every student activity that takes place on campus, particularly when the activity has received [the rectorate’s] permission. […] But the rectorate never invited the TNI to come and be present for the student gathering,” Arie said on Friday, as quoted by Kompas.com. Earlier in the week, students at the Walisongo State Islamic University (UIN) in Semarang, Central Java, were surprised by the presence of a TNI member during a student discussion on April 14. According to a statement from UIN Walisongo’s student body, the incident unfolded just before the discussion started. A man, allegedly an undercover TNI intelligence officer, rapidly left the event after he refused to identify himself when asked by the student organizers to do so. Shortly after, campus security guards came looking for the student organizers and took them outside to meet a TNI member, who then asked the students for their full names and addresses. The student union condemned the presence of the TNI members during the discussion and called it a threat to academic freedom. ‘Overly afraid’ TNI spokesperson Brig. Gen. Kristomei Sianturi dismissed concerns that the military was trying to intimidate students, saying in an interview with Kompas TV on Saturday that “narratives” like these painted the military in a bad light. According to Kristomei, the soldier that went to UI was Depok Military Command chief Col. Iman Widhiarto, and that he did so because he was invited by a student and head of the university’s security division. Read more at:
