Intimidation of Those Opposed to Militarism

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Intimidation of critics of the revised TNI Law is spreading. President Prabowo Subianto’s government is becoming increasingly militaristic.

INTIMIDATION of those who oppose the revised Indonesian Military (TNI) Law has strengthened the impression of militarism and fascism in the administration of President Prabowo Subianto. The experience of many nations at different times, including Indonesia during the New Order, shows that this type of militarism harms the principles of democracy and humanitarianism. 

As well as trying to weaken democracy, intimidation of critics of the revised TNI Law is also being carried out to make the people more frightened. This is what happened to YF, a civil servant who wrote an article titled Generals in Civilian Roles: Where Is the Merit of Civil Servants? for online news portal detik.com. He was physically attacked twice. He did not report them to police because he knew that none of these intimidatory assaults have been properly investigated. He retracted the article, which had been published on May 22, 2025.

Although he does not know who threatened him, YF’s opinion piece criticized the appointment of active military officer Lt. Gen. Djaka Budhi Utama as Director-General of Customs. Meanwhile, previous intimidation of the students from the Islamic University of Indonesia, Yogyakarta, was more blatant. On May 18, village supervisory non-commissioned officers (Babinsa) disguised as Constitutional Court verification staff asked village officials for data and physical descriptions of the students who had requested a formal review of the TNI Law.

It is impossible that the Babinsa personnel were acting on their own initiative, especially since the soldiers involved were from three area military commands covering the areas where the students lived. One was from Mojokerto, East Java, another was from Grobogan, Central Java, and the third was from East Lampung, Lampung. As well as intimidation against individuals, their Constitutional Court document asking for a review was hacked. Nine anonymous accounts accessed the digital application document.

The intimidation also used other state-owned property. For example, there was intimidation of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) activists. On March 23, two green Maung close combat support vehicles were recorded by CCTV camera arriving at the Kontras office in Senen, Central Jakarta. Without leaving the vehicle, one person wearing camouflage clothing took out a mobile phone and filmed the empty office building. As well as this, a Maung vehicle also passed by on March 27, when a civil group was holding a huge demonstration against the TNI Law. 

Kontras is indeed one of the organizations loudly opposing the revision of TNI Law. Kontras Deputy Coordinator Andrie Yunus managed to gain entrance to the room where the TNI Bill was being discussed at the Fairmont Hotel, Jakarta, on Saturday, March 15, 2025. In front of the members of the House of Representatives in the room, Andrie held up a leaflet and shouted, “Reject the TNI Bill.”

The military has not hesitated to enter campuses. On March 25, middle-ranking officers from the Udayana/IX Military Regional Command suddenly appeared at a discussion of the revised TNI Law that had been organized by the Social and Politics Sciences Faculty Student Executive Board of Udayana University, Bali. And the University of Indonesia Student Activity Center also received a visit from the 0508/Depok Military District Command on April 16, when students were holding a national consolidation meeting attended by representatives from a number of campuses.

The uninvited presence of soldiers at student activities on campuses is a form of intimidation. This is despite academic freedom being guaranteed under the Law on Higher Education. And this, in the legal and human rights framework in Indonesia, freedom to assemble, associate, and express opinions in higher education are rights inherent in all academic communities, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Indonesia ratified through Law No. 12/2005. 

Intimidation of those opposing the TNI Law is part of the design of the authorities. It is not only that those behind the intimidation are affiliated with the military, but there is also a plan to allow this intimidation to stifle critical voices. The Police, as the law enforcement institute, has the intelligence capability to uncover the identities of the people behind the intimidations. Unfortunately, in this case, the question is not of the capability but of the willpower—and also courage—of the police to investigate it.

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