Army’s involvement in the family planning program is reduplication disaster in the past
Jakarta, 16 March 2009
Statement on International Women’s Day
Indonesian National Army (it was ABRI, now TNI) will involve again the implementation of Family Planning Program held by National Family Planning Program Board (BKKBN). The return of TNI based on Memorandum of Understanding sign by General TNI Djoko Santoso, chief of BKKBN, dr. Sugiri Syarief, MPA, in the present of Coordinator minister of social welfare Aburizal Bakrie,in Auditorium BKKBN Jakarta, Februari 12 2009. According to General, TNI will involve in the field to improve capacity of advocacy, information and education; Movement and partnership for family planning staff, to manage religious organisations, rural and urban mass organisation, to involve in family planning service, reproductive health service for family and teenager, to involve in babies health service and to improve men’s participations; to empower families, and to train on family planning inside TNI. One of the target of this cooperation is fullfillment of 6,6 millions new acceptor in 2009. Based on the nation history, the military involvement in family planning program was very susceptible to the violation of human rights especially women’s rights. Cooperation of BKKBN and TNI that has object to fullfill acceptor target will be disaster reduplication by military as it was commited in Suharto regime. The target to win the battle on women’s body named Family Planning Program with the main standard of numbers of acceptors by military (ABRI) in the past, violated women’s rights especially the Rights on autonomy of woman’s body, privacy, secrecy, informed consent and choice. In the field, military role in family planning is the form of violence. In that time, INFID (was still INGI) had launched campaign in international level to stop family planning program funded by the debt from World Bank. Research of INFID in 1991[1] shows the use of contraception was forced to women and violated informed consent principle. The military return in family planning program almost certainly means that we let gender based violence happen. The ten years promotions works on women’s rights and gender justice will be destroyed. The military institution is one of state organ that unfriendly to concept, values, principles and pollicies on women’s rights and gender juctice. Family planning is population issues that focused on reproduction health and women’s right as a central theme. Reproduction health service is important to fulfill the need of women and men concerning sexuality and pregnancy timing. There are 8 components on reproductive health: conselling on sexuality, pregnancy, contracepction, abortion, infertility, infection and diseases, sexuality and gender education; prevention screening and treatment on reproductive organ, including HIV/AIDS and other maternity problems, the avaliability of information so that the couple could volontarily choose contraception, prevention and cure of infertility, safe abortion service, pregnancy service, and birth service by (para)medical staff. Regarding the vaste and the depth of the reproductive health components, we can garanty that military bodies will not have enough knowledge and sensitifity to workd in the reproductive health sectors. Further, Reproductive health is not principal duties and function in the military operation in the war or outside the war. And Women bodies are not Military Operation Territory.
Role, Function and Duty of TNI
Act number 34 2004 about TNI decide that : 1) TNI has role as state instrument in defense and do the duty based on policy and state political decissions, 2) TNI has function as protector and actor against all form of military threats from outside and inside ofcountry to sovereignity, and safety of the nation and recover stability on security. 3) Primary duty of TNI is to maintain souvereignity and integrity of territory, 4) engage military operations 5) Postur TNI is built as defense postur to face military and armed threat. 6) Development and TNI show of force has to consider and prior to territory in security threads, isolated territory according to geographic situation and defense stategies. 7) In the show of force, TNI has to avoid organisational form that could be an opportunity to do political practice interest. 8 ) In the show of force, TNI does not always follow government administrative structures. Outside war operation, there are 14 operation : overcome separatist movement, armed revolt, and terrorist acts, secure the frontier, secure strategic and vital objects, secure president and vice president and the families, do the duties to world peace according to foreign policy, empower defense territory and initial support power, and assist government in regions and police, secure foreign guest in the government leadership level, asist in the recovery of natural disaster, refugees and humanitary action, search and rescue and secure cruise and aviation from hijack In the implementation of his duties, TNI must relate his act into policies and government political decissions. Concerning to this article, we doubt the the obedience of TNI to the the Law of Republic Indonesia when the Chief Commander TNI sign the MOU with BKKBN.
The Family Planning Fiasco is a state violation
In the last 10 years, it is undeniable reality that state has failed to promote and to run family planning. TNI involvement resignment is not the failure reason. In fact, the state is responsable to this fiasco. The state especially government has violated Article 12 of Convention of elimination of all form discrimination against women that has been ratified by Indonesia in Act no 7 1984, that State Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of health care in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, access to health care services, including those related to family planning. And that State Parties shall ensure to women appropriate services in connection with pregnancy, confinement and the post-natal period, granting free services where necessary, as well as adequate nutrition during pregnancy and lactation. But since 1998, government is tied to debt with IMF (International Monetary Fund) and forced to run Structural Adjustment, including elimination of free service of health and family planning, the health service for poor people is neglected. Concerning MOU between Chief Commander TNI and BKKBN, INFID demand the cancellation of this MOU. Jakarta, 6 Maret 2009 Don K Marut Direktur Eksekutif INFID
Member, Networks and individus whoconcern and support this statement: ORGANISASI:
1.Asosiasi Tenaga Kerja Indonesia (ATKI) Biro Informasi Jakarta 2.BAKUMSU Medan 3.BISMI, Depok 4.Forum Pemerhati Masalah Perempuan Sulawesi Selatan 5.IDEA Yogyakarta 6.IDSPS 7.Institut Perempuan 8.Institute for National and Democratic Studies (INDIES) 9.JATAM 10.KAIL 11.Kapal Perempuan 12.Kelompok Pelita Sejatera (KPS) Medan 13.Kelompok Perjuangan Kesetaraan Perempuan Sulteng (KPKPST) 14.Koalisi Perempuan Indonesia 15.KSPPM, Medan 16.LARAS Kalimantan Timur 17.Our Voice 18.Perkumpulan relawan CIS TIMOR 19.PIKUL, Kupang – NTT 20.Pusat Kajian dan Perlindungan Anak (PKPA) Banda Aceh 21.Pusat Pengembangan Sumberdaya Wanita (PPSW) 22.Sahabat Perempuan 23.Sahabat Perempuan, Magelang 24.SAHARA, Aceh 25.SATUNAMA Yogyakarta 26.Society Empowerment and Development Institute 27.Watch Indonesia 28.Women Research Institute 29.Yayasan Aksi Kemanusiaan-ANIMASI SoE TTS 30.Yayasan Lembaga Konsumen Sulawesi Selatan 31.Yayasan Pemantau Hak Anak
INDIVIDU:
32.Anik Wusari 33.Atikah Hamzah 34.Baran Melky, Kupang – NTT 35.Damairia Pakpahan 36.Ellin Rozana 37.Herni Ramdlanningrum, aktivis Perempuan Muhammadiyah 38.I Wayan “Gendo” Suardana, SH 39.Iva Hasanah 40.Jufriadi Puspa, Banda Aceh 41.Metta Yanti 42.Mike Peruhe, Melbourne-Aussie 43.Misran Lubis, Coordinator Research and Capacity Building Yayasan Pusat Kajian dan Perlindungan Anak (PKPA) 44.Nur Hidayati 45.Silvia Fanggidae, Kupang – NTT 46.Siti Nurrofiqoh, Pantau 47.Tunggal Pawestri 48.Valentina Sagala 49.Valentina Sri Wijiyati, Yogyakarta 50.Wariyatun, Sahabat Perempuan – Magelang 51.Wika Handini 52.Zohra Andi Baso, Sulawesi Selatan [1] Family Planning Program in Indonesia: a plight for policy, reorientation, by: Wardah Hafidz;, Adrina Taslim; Sita Aripurnami, INGI Conference; Washington, DC-USA; 28 April-2 Mei 1991
