THE TOTAL PEOPLE'S DEFENSE AND SECURITY SYSTEM: PROBLEMS OF THE STATE-SPONSORED MILITIA IN INDONESIA

Abstract

The establishment of state-sponsored militia has raised concerns of human rights violations in non-international armed conflict in Indonesia. Most of the state-sponsored militia have been formed and tacitly supported by the Indonesian National Defense Forces (Tentara Nasional Indonesia) mostly based on the implementation of a concept called the Total People’s Defense and Security System (sistem pertahanan rakyat semesta-sishankamrata­). The Total People’s Defense and Security System is the grand strategy adopted based on Indonesia’s experience during Indonesia’s physical revolution or armed struggle for independence (1945-1949) and recognized under the Second Amendment to the 1945 Constitution. This article will elaborate on, first, the constitutional history and ideology of ‘total people’s defense’ which contributes to the political ideology of the military and its relations with the existence of militia groups; and second, the active encouragement of militia abuses by the Indonesian military as part of a campaign to maintain control of regions seeking independence, along with the constraints imposed by the military itself on the manner in which it conducts such campaign.