Indonesian military ordered to reinstate surveillance

Indonesia's military chief General Endriartono Sutarto has officially ordered the revival of a much-criticised community-based intelligence system to be used to fight terrorism, a report said Tuesday.
Known by its local acronym Koter, the system was scrapped after the fall of dictator Suharto but a plan to revive it was hastily drawn up after the October 1 triple suicide bombings on the resort island of Bali, which killed 20.
Under the system, thousands of non-commissioned officers known as Babinsa act as the government's eyes and ears at village level, looking for suspicious activity.
"I recently issued circulars to all regional military commands, asking them to reinstate Babinsa," Endriartono was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Post.
"They don't have the authority to make arrests, but to tap information from people," he said.
He did not say when their work would begin. The military says about 37,000 non-commissioned military officers are ready to take part in the Koter system across Indonesia, including about 1,000 in the capital Jakarta alone.
Activists have already warned that the return to the system, used during the iron-fisted three-decade rule of Suharto to quash all forms of dissent, threatens to harm democracy and lead to human rights abuses.
Endriartono reportedly brushed off such fears.
"The military is involved in the war on terror to back up the police with necessary information, so that we can prevent any acts of terrorism as early as possible," he was quoted as saying.
"We have to make use of our resources to support the police. Terrorism is a big problem for all of us."
Anti-terrorism activities have traditionally been the territory of the nation's police force and intelligence services, while the military has been limited to assisting police when required.
The government argues that reintroducing the Koter system would strengthen the information gathering work of police and the national intelligence agency.
In another move allowing the military greater involvement in counter-terrorism, anti-terror desks have reportedly been set up at regional army commands to liaise with police on the issue.
Local media reported at the weekend that the desks were established on November 1. They have the power to detain people suspected of terrorist activities but must then immediately hand them to police.