Working Committee meeting begins
On 14 March 2025, the Working Committee (Panja) meeting began at 1:00 PM Western Indonesia Time (WIB) at the Jakarta Fairmont Hotel. It involved Commission I of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) and government representatives from various ministries, including the Ministry of Defense (Kemenhan), the Ministry of Law and Human Rights (Kemenkumham), the Ministry of Finance (Kemenkeu), and the Ministry of State Secretariat (Kemensesneg).[6]
TB Hasanuddin, a member of Commission I of the DPR from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction, confirmed that the meeting discussed the List of Problems Inventory (DIM) for the revision of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) Law. As of the evening, the meeting was still ongoing and was scheduled to conclude at 10:00 PM WIB.[6]
Civil Society Coalition raid
At 5:49 PM WIB, three representatives from the Civil Society Coalition for Security Sector Reform arrived at the Fairmont Hotel. They included Andrie Yunus, Deputy Coordinator of KontraS, along with two other activists. The trio carried A4-sized posters containing critical messages about the revision of the TNI Law, one of which featured an image of the Army Chief of Staff (KSAD), Maruli Simanjuntak.[6]
One minute later, at exactly 5:50 PM WIB, the three activists burst into the meeting room, on the second floor of the Jakarta Fairmont Hotel, Ruby Rooms 1 and 2, where the Working Committee (Panja) was holding its discussion. Inside the room, Andrie Yunus unfurled a poster and delivered a speech: “Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. We are from the Security Sector Reform Coalition, observers in the field of defense. We demand that the deliberation process for the revision of the TNI Law be stopped, as it does not follow proper legislative procedures. This is being held behind closed doors!”[6][7]
At 5:52 PM WIB, hotel security personnel, along with several staff members dressed in batik, quickly escorted the activists out. During the removal, Andrie was pushed and fell to the ground, shouting, “Woi, you pushed! How can we be treated so repressively like this?” Following the incident, the meeting room doors were closed and secured.[6]
At 5:55 PM WIB, the three activists continued their protest outside the room, right in front of the now-locked doors. They delivered loud speeches rejecting the revision of the TNI Law. Some of the statements voiced included: “We are exercising our oversight role as civil society. We reject the ongoing discussion inside! We reject the dual function of the armed forces! Return the military to the barracks!”[6]
Finally, at 6:00 PM WIB, hotel security personnel asked the activists to leave the premises. The request was complied with, and the activists exited the Fairmont Hotel after delivering their message.[6]
Fairmont security guards report KontraS activists
On 16 March 2025, the protest action was reported to the Jakarta Metropolitan Police (Polda Metro Jaya) by a Fairmont Hotel security guard named RYR. The report was registered under number LP/B/1876/III/2025/SPKT/POLDA METRO JAYA. The allegations include suspected disruption of public order, coercion with threats of violence, and insult against a legal entity, based on Articles 172, 212, 217, 335, 503, and 207 of the Indonesian Criminal Code (KUHP). The individuals involved remain under investigation.[8]
In the early hours of the same Sunday, the Jakarta office of KontraS was visited by three unidentified men who rang the doorbell for five minutes and claimed to be from the media. At the same time, Andrie Yunus received three phone calls from unknown numbers. KontraS suspects that this was an act of intimidation following their protest at the Fairmont Hotel.[9]
Allegations of intimidation of activists
Following the protest against the deliberation of the TNI Bill by KontraS, Andrie Yunus, Deputy Coordinator for External Affairs at KontraS, reported experiencing several forms of alleged intimidation.[6]
According to his statement, Andrie received several phone calls from unknown numbers following the incident in which the Working Committee meeting on the TNI Bill was disrupted at the Fairmont Hotel in Jakarta. After conducting an internal investigation, KontraS Coordinator Dimas Bagus Arya claimed that one of the numbers was suspected to belong to a personnel member of the Army Intelligence Detachment (Denintel TNI AD).[6]
In addition, during the early hours of Sunday, the central office of KontraS in Jakarta was visited by three unidentified individuals. According to CCTV footage captured at the front of the office, the three individuals claimed to be media representatives. However, they did not provide any information regarding their identities, the media outlet they represented, or the purpose of their visit at such an unusual hour.[6]
Andrie Yunus told Narasi that the incident was highly suspicious and is suspected to be directly linked to the protest carried out by KontraS against the closed-door deliberations of the TNI Bill on Saturday evening.[6]
