‘Pandora’s box’: alarm bells in Indonesia over rising military role

JAKARTA: Greater military influence in government, reporters under threat and a stuttering economy -- Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto´s first six months in power have triggered alarm bells for activists worried about a return to the country´s authoritarian roots.

Last month, Indonesia´s parliament amended a law allowing active-duty military personnel to work in 14 state institutions -- up from 10 -- including the attorney general´s office, which rights groups say could weaken legal checks on military abuse.

The decision has critics anxious that the world´s third-largest democracy could hark back to the days of dictator Suharto, who ruled Indonesia with an iron fist for more than three decades.

“The government does not realise that Indonesia has a collective trauma over (Suharto´s) authoritarian New Order government,” said Hussein Ahmad, deputy director of rights group Imparsial.

Before Suharto was toppled by student-led protests in 1998, Prabowo was serving as a commander for an elite force to suppress unrest.

He remains accused of human rights abuses, including allegations that he had ordered the abduction of activists at the end of Suharto´s rule -- which Prabowo has denied and never been charged for.

He has since rehabilitated his image, and was elected last year on the hopes that he would continue the policies of popular predecessor Joko Widodo.

Yet in the six months since coming into power, Prabowo´s former life as a general has been thrust into the public eye.

His administration´s move to expand the military´s role in government has raised eyebrows even within Indonesia´s political elite.

After Prabowo appointed government representatives to kickstart discussions of the law in parliament in February, former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said it used to be “taboo” for military personnel to enter politics.

“It was one of the doctrines that we issued back then... If you want to do politics, resign,” he told a meeting.

Presidential spokesman Hasan Nasbi denied that the new law would regress Indonesia back to Suharto´s era.