Talk about Indonesia’s Bela Negara program began a little while ago. The concept of the citizenry defending the nation isn’t new, though it is now being introduced systematically through training centres administered by the Ministry of Defense. The overarching goal of the program is to instil nationalistic values, underpinned by the Pancasila ideology, in the hopes that social stability will withstand threats in the form of extremism, drug abuse, communism and even homosexuality. In February, Minister for Defense, Ryamizard Ryacudu labelled the LGBT movement as a form of proxy war.

The idea of proxy war—that enemies could exist anywhere at anytime, ready to bring down the Indonesian state—situates the military at the forefront of defending the nation. Through the Bela Negara program, military elites such as Ryamizard and TNI chief General Nurmantyo can legitimise their pronouncements of threats against Indonesia.

Reuters was given a glimpse into training held in West Java (Reuters Photo/Darren Whiteside):

For the full photo essay, see here.

Read the full story by Reuters’ Eveline Danubrata and Johan Purnomo here.