Defining the Lines: Military and Police Roles in Counterterrorism

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Amid the controversy surrounding a Presidential Regulation on the Duties of the Indonesian Military (TNI) in Addressing Acts of Terrorism, Edy Imran said he already anticipated the substance of the draft. The retired brigadier general said the involvement of soldiers in counterterrorism has a legal basis in Law No. 5/2018 on the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Terrorism. Edy, who once served at the TNI's Legal Development Agency and took part in drafting the Anti-Terrorism Law, classified terrorism as a military threat. "The TNI is one of the main components in addressing it," Edy told Tempo on Wednesday, January 14, 2026. The draft presidential regulation on the military's authority to handle terrorism circulated publicly in early January. Chief of the Defense Information Bureau at the Defense Ministry Brig. Gen. Rico Ricardo Sirait explained that the regulation referred to Law No. 3/2025 on the Indonesian Military. That law mandates the military, under Article 7 paragraph 2(b), to deal with acts of terrorism. According to Rico, the military would only be deployed after a presidential decision. The House of Representatives (DPR) would also exercise oversight. "The military adheres to the principles of legality, proportionality, accountability, and the protection of human rights," said the 2000 Military Academy graduate.