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View all search resultsDeath by omission: The true cost of militarizing cooperatives
What began as a signature government initiative has spiraled into an institutional disaster, where a toxic blend of military indoctrination, extreme fiscal bypasses and fatal medical negligence resulted in the deaths of five civilian trainees. Halting the program is not enough, the state must be held fully accountable for subjugating a grassroots civilian economy to a lethal, top-down military culture.
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Participants in the Indonesian Graduate Development Mobilization (SPPI) chant slogans during basic military training for prospective managers of the Red and White Cooperatives at the 1st Marine Infantry Brigade in Cilandak, Jakarta, on June 25, 2026. (Antara/Indrianto Eko Suwarso)
T
he recent deaths of five managerial candidates for the Red and White Cooperatives and Red and White Fisherman’s Village programs during a basic military training program constitute a critical institutional failure rather than an isolated oversight. This incident carries profound legal and structural implications, potentially implicating the government in human rights violations, specifically regarding the rights to security and life.
Amid intense public scrutiny, on June 29, 15 days after the military training began, the Defense Ministry announced the termination of the program, redirecting activities instead toward state defense briefings and managerial training. Nevertheless, an independent and exhaustive investigation into the deaths, including autopsies, if necessary, is essential to uphold public transparency.
Ending the training program can neither pardon the government of accountability nor stop the inquiry. This independent process must verify the ministry's assertions that all participants received standardized medical treatment and had passed comprehensive initial screenings, which reportedly included laboratory blood and urine tests, pregnancy tests, thoracic X-rays, EKGs, abdominal ultrasounds and physical and psychiatric evaluations.
The Defense Ministry, as well as the victims' medical timelines, points to a fatal vulnerability in the implementation of the training across various military education units. Within a span of fewer than 10 days in mid-to-late June, five participants died due to varying yet interrelated clinical failures brought on by extreme physical exertion.
The cases of three trainees demonstrate a grimly consistent pattern: a drastic decline in physical condition culminating in cardiac arrest, which in one of the cases was explicitly triggered by heat stroke. Active pulmonary tuberculosis and pneumonia compounded by comorbidities of hypertension and obesity were blamed for the other two deaths.
Analytically, this distribution of medical data reflects not only the severe risks inherent in intensive military conditioning for civilians but also leads to fundamental flaws in initial health screening and periodic medical monitoring. Furthermore, the delayed pullout of 32 pregnant trainees following these multiple fatalities reveals a failure in initial risk planning, suggesting that safety standards were only enforced after a crisis of public legitimacy had already erupted.
This mass training program involves 30,000 Red and White Cooperatives managerial candidates and 5,476 candidates for the Red and White Fisherman’s Village program, organized by the Defense Ministry. They are part of the Indonesian Graduate Development Mobilization (SPPI), a signature initiative of the Prabowo Subianto administration aimed at recruiting university graduates to act as developmental engines and community leaders across rural regions.
