JAKARTA: An Indonesian court was scheduled to rule on Wednesday on challenges to the revision of a military law allowing a greater armed forces role in civilian affairs, among the sources of anger that have stoked widespread anti-government protests.
The Constitutional Court was due to decide on five petitions against amendments that plaintiffs say were bulldozed through parliament in March without proper public consultation, amid concerns of an expansion of the military’s involvement in civilian life under President Prabowo Subianto.
Fears are growing in Indonesia that former special forces commander Prabowo is turning increasingly to the armed forces to help deliver his ambitious agenda after just 11 months in office, reviving memories of the military-dominated 1966-1998 New Order era of authoritarian rule.