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TNI's upcoming lavish anniversary parade raises eyebrows
Jakarta Post - October 7, 2014
The TNI has earmarked Rp 20 billion (US$1.63 million) for its military parade on the anniversary in Surabaya, East Java, on Tuesday. This year's budget is a Rp 5 billion increase compared to last year's. The celebration will involve 18,580 military officers and showcase the aerobatic maneuvering of 217 planes by the Air Force.
The Army will display its latest arsenal, such as Leopard main battle tanks, Marder infantry fighting vehicles and Caesar 155-milimeter gun-howitzers. Meanwhile, the Marine Corps will bring 35 warships and corvettes to the event.
TNI spokesman Maj. Gen. Fuad Basya said the celebration was a homage to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's dedication to building the TNI in his 10-year presidency. "The budget rise is due to the mobilization of our weaponry and military vehicles from Jakarta to Surabaya," Fuad said on Monday in Surabaya.
TNI commander Gen. Moeldoko is expected to hold a dangdut music party on Tuesday as a token of appreciation for his hard-working soldiers, tempo.co has reported. "During the dangdutan [concert], I will give away money," Moeldoko said in Surabaya, which drew applause from hundreds of soldiers.
Kontras chairman Haris Azhar lambasted the TNI commemoration plan, including the dangdut concert. "It's unnecessary and wasteful spending. I believe that throwing money at the concert is an odd way to express concerns about soldiers' welfare. I guess Moeldoko is running out of ideas," Haris said in a telephone interview on Monday.
Moeldoko has persistently expressed his intention to improve the welfare of his soldiers, but at the same time, has sparked controversies over his apparent luxurious lifestyle.
In April, Moeldoko was caught wearing a $100,000 limited edition watch, which he later claimed was a knockoff. Haris added there was no need to throw a big party for Yudhoyono as the President had not made a significant contribution to reform the TNI.
"Yudhoyono has achieved nothing. He kept quiet when the TNI and National Police engaged in conflict. We're still unable to set up an ad hoc human rights tribunal to hear cases involving military officials," he said.
Kontras reported that there were 160 criminal cases implicating military personnel from October last year to September 2014, ranging from shootings, extortion to sexual assault.
Kontras and other human rights groups have called on the House of Representatives to revisit the military tribunal bill that would have authorized a civilian tribunal for military personnel. The House ditched the bill's deliberations in 2005 and instead passed the Military Discipline Law in September this year. The law, however, only regulates the internal supervision of soldiers.
"We appreciate the enactment of the law. However, it is not enough to regulate legal charges against TNI members," Kontras said in its latest report.
Rizal Dharma Putra, an analyst with the Indonesian Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies, suggested the Defense Ministry should play a greater role in supervising TNI personnel.
"We need to have good external and internal supervision to eradicate misconduct among soldiers. Thus, the supervision role of the Defense Ministry should be optimized," he said.
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