Alarm over Jakarta’s rising military

Greater military influence in government reports, unrest 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 authoritarian roots.

- writes AFP

Last month, Indonesia’s parliament amended a law allowing active-duty military personnel to work in 14 state institutions — up from 10 — including at 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 backslide 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, Mr 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 in the final months of Suharto’s rule — which Mr Prabowo has denied and never been charged for.