At least 18,000 military and police officers were deployed during the G20 Summit held last month on the Indonesian island of Bali, which was attended by 17 world leaders, including U.S. president Joe Biden. Photo: Anton Raharjo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
An official from Indonesia’s top security force has been detained and fired after being accused of raping an army lieutenant during the G20 Summit in Bali last month. A commanding officer from Indonesia’s Presidential Security Force (Paspampres) allegedly sexually assaulted a female officer from the country’s Army Strategic Reserves Command, after meeting her alone on the pretext of a security briefing. General Andika Perkasa, the commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, confirmed the news on Thursday and said a criminal investigation is underway. The case is the first time Paspampres has admitted to sexual assault by one of its officers. “There will be no compromise,” Perkasa told the media in Jakarta on Thursday. “He’s already been detained.” The accused, referred to as “Major BF,” has already been fired from his role with Paspampres, Perkasa added. “[The termination] is a must,” he said, adding that Major BF is being questioned at a base in North Sulawesi, where the survivor is posted. Paspampres, part of the country’s national armed forces, is tasked with the security of Indonesian President Joko Widodo and other VVIPs. At least 18,000 military and police officers were deployed during the G20 Summit held last month on the Indonesian island of Bali, which was attended by 17 world leaders, including U.S. president Joe Biden. Public details on the attack remain thin, however. News reports say that the alleged sexual assault took place while the two officers were deployed as security detail. According to reports, Major BF had entered the survivor’s room while she was resting and insisted he wanted to discuss security at the summit. In a media statement on Friday, top Paspampres official Lieutenant general Chandra W Sukotjo said they’re still compiling evidence and taking testimony of witnesses to charge Major BF. The Indonesian military has a well documented history of sexual misconduct within its ranks. Human rights groups have accused it of sexual violence in conflict-torn and heavily militarised West Papua and Aceh provinces, while in 2019, military personnel were investigated for kidnapping and sexually abusing school girls. The army was also accused of committing a form of sexual assault by practicing virginity tests on its women recruits, a practice which was only banned last year. Earlier this year, Indonesia’s parliament passed a long-overdue sexual violence bill strengthening legal definitions of sexual crimes, as well as introducing stricter punishments for perpetrators and victim support for the first time. It was finally pushed through parliament after 10 years after a spate of shocking sexual crimes that activists said constituted a “state of emergency.”Follow Pallavi Pundir on Twitter.
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