TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid has criticized the deployment of military personnel, reserve component members, and civilian groups to help secure a series of demonstrations held across Indonesia over the past week.
Speaking to journalists at the Muhammadiyah Central Executive Board office in Central Jakarta on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, Usman argued that maintaining security during public demonstrations falls primarily under the responsibility of the police.
According to him, the involvement of active-duty members of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) in crowd control and protest security is inappropriate because the military is trained for national defense rather than civilian law enforcement.
"The military is trained, educated, and armed for war, not for handling issues within society," Usman said.
Usman also opposed the participation of members of Indonesia's Reserve Component (Komcad) in securing demonstrations. He warned that involving Komcad personnel could increase the risk of horizontal conflict because reserve members are civilians in their day-to-day status.
His concerns extend to the involvement of civilian organizations and online motorcycle taxi communities in protest security operations. Usman said the government should not mobilize non-state groups to assist in maintaining order during public demonstrations.
"The government should not be organizing them," he said.
As an example, Usman cited the "Cawang Berdarah" (Bloody Cawang) incident, in which a group of students was allegedly attacked by individuals associated with the Civilian Security Forces, or Pam Swakarsa.
"It resulted in deaths," he said.
Usman maintained that the Indonesian National Police have sufficient capacity to secure demonstrations without assistance from the military, reserve personnel, or civilian groups.
"Do not involve the military, do not involve Komcad, and do not involve civilian groups," he said.
Concerns over Komcad's involvement emerged following the circulation of a document issued by Indonesia's Ministry of Defense. According to the document, dated June 11, 2026, and numbered B/752/VI/2026/BACADNAS, approximately 500 Komcad members who are civil servants were instructed to participate in an alert deployment on June 12.
The document was reviewed by Tempo.
Tempo reporters also observed military personnel positioned behind police lines during demonstrations. Several were seen wearing full green camouflage uniforms while assisting with security operations.
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