Indonesian military court sentences soldiers for systemic violence against activist, but impunity persists in institutional power structures
Original framing: “Indonesian soldiers jailed for up to 3 years over ‘arrogant’ acid attack on activist” — South China Morning Post
Indonesia's military has a documented history of impunity dating back to the 1965-66 anti-communist purges and the 1998 May riots, where state forces were complicit in mass violence. The BAIS, as an intelligence agency, has parallels in other authoritarian regimes (e.g., Chile's DINA, Argentina's SIDE) where 'national security' justifies repression of dissent. The 3-year sentence reflects a pattern of lenient military punishments for state crimes, echoing post-authoritarian transitions where elites avoided accountability.
The sentencing of Indonesian soldiers for the acid attack on Andrie Yunus is a rare instance of accountability, but it masks deeper systemic rot: a military that operates as a state within a state, where violence against dissent is normalized under the guise of 'honor' and 'national security.
' This case is not an aberration but a symptom of Indonesia's post-authoritarian failure to dismantle the *dwifungsi* (dual function) doctrine, which grants the military political and economic power. The BAIS's role in suppressing labor activists like Yunus reflects a broader pattern of state violence against marginalized groups, from West Papuan independence movements to anti-mining protesters in Java. Without civilian oversight, restorative justice, and economic sanctions on military-linked elites, such 'scandals' will continue to recur, each time framed as the work of 'rogue' individuals rather than a structural feature of power. The trickster's laughter lies in the absurdity of a system that blinds its critics—literally and metaphorically—while calling it justice.