Indonesia rights body: halt Prabowo military training
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- Indonesia's human rights commission called on the government to end basic military training for prospective managers of President Prabowo Subianto's "Red and White Cooperatives" programme after five participants died between June 17 and June 26 — 10 days into the 45-day training.
- The defense ministry attributed the five deaths to cardiac arrest, heat stroke, tuberculosis, and pneumonia, and said all participants had passed pre-training medical checks; it stated the training involved no combat skills or strenuous physical activity.
- The "Red and White Cooperatives" programme, launched in July 2024, aims to establish around 80,000 village cooperatives selling basic goods, subsidised cooking gas and fertiliser, and is tied to the government's target of 8% economic growth by 2029.
- Nearly 35,000 future cooperative managers must complete the military training, which began June 14 and runs through July 31 across several regional military training units.
- Commission official Pramono Ubaid Tantowi argued that basic military training does not build the managerial competence, leadership, and financial literacy cooperative managers need, and called for forensic autopsies and a criminal investigation.
- The defense ministry announced a "comprehensive evaluation" of the training, including health monitoring, early detection of at-risk participants, activity-intensity adjustments, and health ministry involvement.
- Prabowo, a former general who took office in 2024, has expanded military roles in civilian affairs, including in his flagship programmes.
Why it matters: With 35,000 cooperative managers still required to complete the training by July 31, the rights commission's recommendation to halt it entirely puts Prabowo's signature economic programme — tied to his 8% growth target — at a crossroads. The commission's parallel demand for forensic autopsies and a criminal investigation escalates the matter beyond a training adjustment into potential legal accountability for the defense ministry.
