Quick summary: Indonesia’s human rights commission and advocacy groups have demanded an immediate halt to basic military training for prospective managers of a flagship village cooperatives programme after five participants died from severe medical conditions within just 10 days. While the defence ministry plans to evaluate health monitoring to support its ambition of 8% economic growth, civil society coalitions argue that using military discipline to ensure civilian professionalism is a fundamentally flawed and dangerous assumption. For public policy and citizen well-being, these tragic fatalities highlight the critical need for safer healthcare practices within state initiatives and demonstrate that shifting towards military approaches in civilian sectors directly threatens the physical safety and psychological welfare of workers.
Indonesia’s national human rights commission and rights groups have urged the government to halt basic military training for prospective managers of President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship village cooperatives programme following the deaths of five participants just 10 days into the course.
The “Red and White Cooperatives” programme, launched in July last year, seeks to establish around 80,000 village cooperatives across Indonesia, with goals including job creation and supporting the government’s ambition of achieving 8% economic growth by 2029. The cooperatives are designed to sell basic goods, subsidised cooking gas, and fertiliser.
Nearly 35,000 future cooperative managers are required to complete the military training, which began on 14th June and is scheduled to run until 31st July at several regional military training units, overseen by the defence ministry.
On Saturday, the defence ministry reported that five participants died between 17th June and 26th June from various causes, including cardiac arrest, heat stroke, tuberculosis, and pneumonia. The victims were Anisa Muyassaroh, who died on 18th June; Yonanda Muhammad Taufiq, who died on 17th June; and Novia Rahmadhani Sihotang, Muhammad Rifki Renaldi Gunawan, and Nola Dya Sari, who died in separate incidents between 22nd June and 26th June.
“The five participants have different medical conditions and received medical treatment according to the standard procedures,” said Major General Ketut Gede Wetan, head of human resource development at the ministry. He added that all participants had undergone medical checks before the training and were cleared to join, and that the training focused on non-combat skills and did not involve strenuous physical activity. Each victim’s family will receive 50 million rupiah (US$2,799) in compensation.
The defence ministry announced it would carry out a comprehensive evaluation of the training, including improved health monitoring, early detection of participants with health risks, and adjustments to the intensity of activities, with the health ministry also to be involved. Officials confirmed the training would continue despite the fatalities, noting that evaluations had already been conducted after the first two deaths to strengthen safety measures.
On Sunday, 28th June, Indonesia’s national human rights commission called for an immediate end to the basic military training for managers of both the cooperatives and fishing villages programmes. “Cooperatives are economic institutions oriented towards business management, member services, and organisational governance,” said Pramono Ubaid Tantowi, an official at the commission, who emphasised that capacity building should instead focus on strengthening managerial competence, leadership, and financial literacy. “Basic military training does not directly support the achievement of those competencies,” he said.
The commission also demanded a full government investigation into the deaths and urged police to request forensic autopsies to establish the causes as part of any potential criminal probe.
The Civil Society Coalition for Security Sector Reform similarly demanded an immediate end to the training. “The training is flawed from the outset because it is built on the assumption that military discipline equals professionalism in civilian organisations,” the coalition said. “The deaths of these five participants further confirm that the assumption is not only mistaken, but also dangerous.”
The coalition also highlighted the government’s growing reliance on military approaches in civilian initiatives under Subianto, including the free nutritious meals programme. “This practice has increasingly blurred the line between defence institutions and civilian governance in a democratic state,” it added.
As the evaluation proceeds, families of the deceased and programme participants await clearer guidance on safety improvements and the future direction of the initiative.
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