Urgency for TNI Counterterrorist Engagement
Over the last several years, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has become a threat to global security.
Most recently, ISIS managed to take control of Marawi, a city in the southern Philippines, and take its residents hostage. President Duterte declared martial law and deployed the military in response.
The Philippines is notoriously strict in law enforcement.Still fresh in our minds is when its police hunted down drug dealers and drug users indiscriminately. Thousands of people were shot dead by Filipino police. Even the daughter of a mafia figure, Maria Moynihan,who had dual British-Philippines citizenship, became a victim of the crackdown because of her alleged involvement in drug trafficking.
However, when faced with terrorist groups like ISIS, the Filipino police as a branch of law enforcement are not able to block it. Moreover ISIS,believed to have been joined by leaders of the Maute separatist group, has executed the local police chief. The collaboration between militants and the ISIS network further worsened the complexity of countermeasures against terrorism in the Philippines. It is natural that Duterte responded by mobilizing the military with its heavy weaponry to break the ISIS network in Marawi.
Practices in other countries
Marawi is only several hundred kilometers from the northernmost regions of Indonesia. The oceans bordering the two countries enable the possible infiltration of Indonesian territory by the ISIS network there. If this happens, it will certainly lead to potential new conflicts. It is not impossible that the scenario of Ambon and Poso might recur, since the majority of North Sulawesi\'s population is non-Muslim. The presence of the Kodam XIII/Merdeka military command, which was inaugurated some time ago, is a very appropriate government decision to anticipate this.
However, in countering terrorism, several obstacles hamper an inter-agency approach in the field. Combating terrorism is not just the responsibility of law enforcement, such as the police. The existing complexity and rampant cross-country acts means terrorism is no longer just about criminal activity, but rather a crime against the state.
Even Britain,following the Manchester bomb attack, immediately deployed more than 1,000 soldiers from its Special Air Service (SAS) unit and the elite airborne infantry unit, the Parachute Regiment. This deployment of special forces, code-named the Temperer Operation,aims to optimize anticipatory measures against further acts of terrorism based on intelligence reports.
The United States has also long deployed its military in its fight against terrorism. Despite the existence of the Posse Comitatus Act (1878),the US government has revised the context of military deployment in handling domestic terrorism, which was severely restricted previously. This is quite unique, because the US is using the forward defense strategy to crush opponents in its country. Learning from the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center (2001), the US has reconsidered the need to empower all components, including the military, in tackling terrorism.
In Indonesia, the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) has thus far been given the legal umbrella of Law No. 34 of 2004, which mentions its main task to combat acts of terrorism in the country. There is now a discourse to give authority to the TNI through a draft bill to amend Law No. 15/2003 on Eradication of Terrorism. President Jokowi has also instructed that the TNI be engaged in counterterrorism. Of course, this proposal is not without controversy. A number of circles in the House of Representatives and academics are concerned about human rights abuses by the TNI if it becomes involved.
We must be wise in our response. Speaking about state security is not just about the dichotomy between the judicial and military approach in handling terrorism issues, which focus on the dominance of the roles of the police and military.
The TNI has thus far had a worldwide track record in counterterrorism measures. The release of the Woyla hostages in Thailand and the hostage rescue in Mapenduma by the Kopassus elite special forces in collaboration with the Kostrad Para Raider unit stunned the world with the Indonesian military’s actions in countering terrorism.
Recently, ISIS has stepped up its action in Southeast Asia and is a potential threat to national security. Moreover, Marawi is not far away and a number of Indonesian citizens have joined the ISIS group there. In such a situation, Indonesia needs to anticipate the possibility of widespread ISIS activity in the country. We do not want more suicide bombings such as the one that killed three police officers in Kampung Melayu, Jakarta, on May 24, 2017.
Other considerations
There are a number of things to consider in establishing TNI involvement in combating terrorism. First, the conditions of TNI engagement must be clear, when the National Police moves independently, when TNI involvement in operational control assistance (BKO) is initiated, and when the TNI may move independently. If the National Police has limited resources, a scheme for engaging the TNI must be prepared to anticipate widespread losses due to terrorism.
The National Police already has its Densus 88 counterterrorism squad. However, with the development of technology as well as the tactics and techniques of ISIS network members, such as the Santoso group in Poso, it is necessary to optimize counterterrorism measures with military deployment that still observes human rights and existing laws. Under the military reform agenda introduced in 2004, the TNI has made many improvements. A number of polls rank the TNI as the most trusted public institution. This is capital for the TNI that needs to be maintained properly.
Furthermore, the synergy of countering terrorism involves not only law enforcement and the military. Deradicalization to address the root causes of terrorism requires the collaboration of all stakeholders. This collaboration must accommodate approaches based on local contexts. The failure of the US in a number of its missions was caused by an inability to understand local cultures, as the majority of the global war on terroris carried out in foreign territory.
For Indonesia, the context is different. The dark history of the Darul Islam
(DI/TII) separatists,who were successfully crushed by the military in coordination with the local community through a posse operation,is an example of successful synergy. The ISIS ideology to establish a universal Islamic state is not much different from the DI/TII’s goal, which is certainly contrary to Pancasila, our state ideology. Therefore, ISIS needs to be examined with a view to where the involvement of all elements becomes important, including the military. Learning from the experiences of a number of democratic countries in countering terrorism, using the military in such situations is not taboo.
A legal umbrella is a priority to legitimize military deployment. Finalization of the revised draft bill on terrorism, including derivatives of Law No. 34/2004, is important to guide the implementation mechanism in the field. The legal umbrella will eliminate any doubts in action. Competent military units in combating terrorism, such Kopassus with its Gultor units, Kostrad with its Raiders and Taipur, special reconnaissance platoons under the Kotama main command, can be deployed alongside intelligence and other military units. Of course, this does not mean that all TNI units must be engaged.
Deployment of the TNI in counterterrorism is an urgent need for Indonesia. The President\'s swiftness in recommending TNI involvement and a number of proposals from the legislature, as well as proposals from the TNI, are factors that can smoothen this process, especially because the National Police have also provided positive views on the importance of TNI involvement in counterterrorism. However, finalizing it will not be easy.
Watching the development of ISIS in the region, where the action in Marawi is close to Indonesia, the government needs to finalize preparations immediately.
We do not want to wait for terrorist acts, such as in Manchester, Kampung Melayu and Marawi, to happen again,to be followed later by the legitimacy for military deployment. If this scenario happens, it can only be imagined how many civilians will have become victims of terror. Prevention involving the synergy of relevant stakeholders, including the military, is urgent to minimize collateral damage from potential ISIS activity in the country.
The national interest is absolute. The terrorism network affiliated with ISIS is a real threat to the defense and security of the country and that which must be crushed. The unity of the NKRI (Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia)territory and the establishment of sovereignty are fundamental to Indonesia. In this context, the TNI is absolutely necessary to optimize the national response to terrorism.
FREGA WENASINKIRIWANG
Lecturer of the University of Defense and LPDP Awardee; Taking a PhD program at The London School of Economics andPolitical Science, the UK