Indonesian president's phone wiretapping scandal spreads... Large-scale deployment of military troops in Jakarta

In Indonesia, a large number of military forces were deployed to the capital, Jakarta, following the arrest of the President's Chief of Staff, a former police chief, on charges of wiretapping the phone calls of the President and other influential figures.

According to AP and Reuters and Indonesian media outlet Compass.com on the 5th (local time), the Indonesian military authorities announced the day before that they were deploying more than 20,000 military troops in Jakarta to strengthen security.

An Indonesian Navy official said that 2,100 troops from units stationed in Jakarta were deployed first, and that troops from outlying areas arrived in Jakarta the day before, bringing the total number to 29,000.

Among the new troops to be deployed to Jakarta are not only members of the Marine Corps and Navy units, but also members of training centers and naval bases in Java and Lampung provinces.

This situation occurred shortly after the arrest of Presidential Chief of Staff Listillo Sigit Prabowo (57), a former police chief, and two high-ranking police officers on charges of wiretapping the phone calls of influential figures, including President Prabowo Subianto.

President Prabowo immediately dismissed Chief of Staff Ristillo the day before, and the President's Office announced that the wiretapping suspicion could be considered treason.

Yusril Mahendra, Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Justice, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections, added, "Looking at the investigation so far, there are circumstances that could have led to an act of treason," adding, "It is possible that the goal was to paralyze the government so that it could not function."

However, Indonesian military authorities did not reveal whether this deployment of troops was related to the presidential wiretapping incident.

“The movement of troops is a standard procedure for national security and territorial integrity,” Indonesian military spokesman Muhammat Nas said. “It is a routine matter.”

In fact, in Indonesia, soldiers are often deployed in downtown Jakarta.

Some experts diagnosed that the presidential wiretapping incident is seen as a confrontation between existing political forces trying to protect their privileges and new political forces currently consolidating their power.

Chief of Staff Listillo served as the National Police Commissioner in 2021 during the administration of former President Joko Widodo (Joko Widodo).

Firman Nur, a senior researcher at the Center for Political Research under Indonesia's National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), told Compass.com: "It is clear that there is fierce competition going on within the elite class, but it is very unusual to wiretap a head of state."

This year, Indonesia's economic situation is unstable and large-scale protests have been taking place due to the worst forest fires in 11 years.

President Prabowo Subianto's approval rating, which was 81.2% in November last year, recently dropped to 44.5% as financial problems were raised due to the large-scale free school meal program, which was a key pledge of President Prabowo Subianto.

Regarding the recent deployment of military forces in Jakarta, Sana Jafri, a researcher at the Australian National University (ANU), said, "If President Prabowo (a former special forces commander) increasingly recognizes the threat to his personal safety, the basis for relying more on the military may be strengthened," and expressed concern that there is a risk that it could escalate into an unintended situation.