Controversy Over Military Training in Indonesia's Village Cooperative Program

Indonesia's human rights commission urges the government to halt basic military training for managers of a village cooperative program after five participants died. The program, aiming for economic growth via 80,000 cooperatives, faces scrutiny due to the deaths. Investigations and evaluations are called for to address the issues.

Indonesia's human rights commission has called on the government to cease military training for managers under President Prabowo Subianto's village cooperative initiative. This plea comes after five participants died, only days into the training period.

The program, launched in July last year, seeks to establish 80,000 village cooperatives and bolster economic growth to reach an 8% target by 2029. The commission argues that cooperatives focus on business management, not military skills, and military training is inappropriate.

The defense ministry acknowledged the deaths and announced plans for a comprehensive evaluation of the training. Meanwhile, the commission demands a government investigation into the deaths and urges police to conduct forensic autopsies for a meticulous criminal investigation.