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Five dead in Indonesia's military training for Prabowo cooperative managers, rights body demands halt

Five of 35,476 civilian participants in mandatory basic military training for President Prabowo Subianto's flagship Red and White Village Cooperatives program died in the first ten days, from heat stroke, tuberculosis and cardiac causes; Indonesia's Human Rights Commission called for the training to be suspended.

首脳·司法· worsening 誰が決めるのか·暮らしはどう変わるか ·5 論調 · ·rbtfl 更新 2026年6月30日

Summary

Five of 35,476 civilian participants in mandatory basic military training died in the first ten days of Indonesia's Latsarmil program, which requires managers of President Prabowo Subianto's Red and White Village Cooperatives and Red and White Fisherman Villages to complete 30 days of military training under the Defense Ministry's reserve component before 15 days of managerial instruction. Deaths documented by Tempo and The Jakarta Post include Anisa Muyassaroh, who died of heat stroke on June 18 at the Mulawarman Kodam training unit in Balikpapan; Novia Rahmadhani Sihotang, who died June 23 from active tuberculosis; Nola Dya Sari, who died June 26 with shortness of breath and fever; Muhammad Rifki Renaldi Gunawan, who died with similar symptoms; and a fifth unnamed participant. Indonesia's National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) called for the military training component to be suspended, while the Defense Ministry defended the program as strategically vital for national development.

The split

Komnas HAM framed the deaths as evidence that Komcad-style military training is structurally incompatible with civilian program managers who have not undergone medical fitness screening for reserve duty. The Defense Ministry and Prabowo administration defended Latsarmil as necessary to instil discipline and esprit de corps in managers of a program projected to reach 80,000 village cooperatives. The Jakarta Post's coverage leaned on civil-society and opposition voices calling for a probe; state media emphasized ministerial defenses. No government official had accepted the commission's suspension recommendation as of June 29.

By the numbers

  • 5, participant deaths in the first 10 days of a 45-day program
  • 35,476, total participants enrolled in the first Latsarmil wave (June 17 to July 31)
  • 30, days of basic military training under the reserve component (Komcad)
  • 15, days of managerial instruction (the non-military component)
  • 80,000, village cooperatives the Red and White program ultimately targets
  • June 17, training start date; June 18, first death

Why it matters

Prabowo Subianto's cooperative program is the flagship domestic policy of his presidency, intended to embed state-linked enterprise at the village level. Mandatory military training for the program's civilian managers is a design choice that mirrors Prabowo's Kopassus background and has no equivalent in prior cooperative programs. The deaths test whether the Defense Ministry has effective safeguards for mass civilian mobilization outside the formal military chain of command, and whether Prabowo Subianto will permit independent oversight of a program he personally champions.

What to watch

  • Whether Komnas HAM escalates to a formal investigation referral to the Ombudsman or DPR commission.
  • Whether the Defense Ministry modifies the training regimen, adds pre-training medical screening, or suspends the military component.
  • Death toll progression through July 31, when the first Latsarmil wave ends.
  • Whether the DPR's Commission I (defense) or Commission IX (labor and health) opens hearings.