Indonesia Military Set to Guard Narcotic Prisons

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - Indonesia army personnel are set to begin guarding narcotic prisons in Jakarta for a day under an effort to honor the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Army and the Law and Human Rights Ministry, an official stated.

"As many as 15 military personnel will help secure Jakartas narcotic prisons in the near future," the Deputy Director of Communications at the Directorate General of Corrections of Law and Human Rights Ministry, Akbar Hadi, told journalists on Thursday.

The military personnel will be on duty for 24 hours and will be divided into four shifts. Each team will consist of three to four personnel.

"There will be back-up security at the door porter and in strategic places," Hadi confirmed.

The security cooperation is part of an implementation of a MoU that was signed by the Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly and former Army Chief General Moeldoko on April 2.

He explained that the placement of military personnel is a pilot project before the inauguration of a special prison for drug dealers in the Gunung Sindur prison which is still in progress.

Hadi said the Directorate General of Corrections had been working with the Ministry of Communications and Information, and Indonesian Telecommunication Providers Association (ATSI) for controlling communication networks in the Gunung Sindur Prison.

"Infrastructure is okay, but we still needed an assessment and verification from human resources of the Directorate General Corrections, the Army, the National Anti-narcotics Agency, and the National Police," he pointed out.

As many as 20 military personnel will also back-up security in the Nusakambangan prison.

The plan for military personnel placement in prisons is yet to be submitted since the post of Director General of Corrections has been held by Handoyo since January.

The recruited personnel are non-commissioned officers, who will retire at the age of 53 to 58 years, and do not need to make the appointment of a new warden. (WDY)