A betrayal<\/p>\n
It now looks almost certain the People's Consultative Assembly
\n(MPR) will extend the political role of the Indonesian Military
\n(TNI) beyond 2004, the original deadline promised by leaders of
\nthe 1998 reform movement that included the likes of President
\nAbdurrahman Wahid, Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri and
\nAssembly Speaker Amien Rais. As the MPR enters the last days of
\nits Annual Session, a draft decree retaining the TNI\/National
\nPolice faction in the Assembly until 2009 already has been
\nendorsed at the MPR commission level. Barring any last-minute
\nsurprises, the draft decree from Commission B will be endorsed by
\nthe entire Assembly on Friday.<\/p>\n
At the same time, Commission A, which is dealing with
\nconstitutional amendments, is debating whether to write TNI's
\npolitical role into the country's Constitution. The fate of this
\nproposal is less certain, but an endorsement will give greater
\npermanence to what many people have regarded as a national
\nstigma. While an MPR decree can be reviewed every year, an
\narticle in the Constitution will be harder to repeal.<\/p>\n
If the TNI's political role is written into the 1945
\nConstitution, this Assembly, which was formed through democratic
\nelections on a platform of political reform, will go down in
\nhistory as the one that gave constitutional legitimacy to the
\nmilitary's role in politics. Not even Soeharto, whose 32-year
\ntyrannical regime was largely propped up by the military
\nexercising its massive political clout, went this far.<\/p>\n
During Soeharto's time, the military's \"dual function\" in
\ndefense and politics was supported by a national consensus --
\nwhatever that means -- and formalized through an MPR decree and a
\nlaw. It was never written into the Constitution. It is therefore
\na huge irony the current MPR should want to maintain or even
\nelevate TNI's political role, when it is largely agreed that
\ngiving the military political power in the first place is one of
\nthe main reasons why the country finds itself in the political
\nmess it is in today.<\/p>\n
Few politicians have bothered to satisfactorily explain why
\nthe major factions in the MPR have agreed to extend the
\nmilitary's lease on political life. The most credible --
\nincredible is probably a better word -- explanation, given by
\nsome members of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
\nPerjuangan), is that it is a political \"compromise\" in return for
\nmembers of the military and police waiving their right to vote in
\nelections. One suspects behind-the-scenes arm-twisting and horse
\ntrading during deliberations at the MPR.<\/p>\n
Whatever the reasons, this confirms TNI remains a strong
\npolitical group and is effectively exercising its power to steer
\nthe MPR into agreeing to extend its political role. This episode
\nshould also ring the alarm that TNI has no intention of leaving
\nthe political arena at all, and that it has just bought itself
\nanother five years to plan its next move.<\/p>\n
Whether the TNI's role in politics is extended to 2009 or is
\nwritten into the 1945 Constitution, the MPR has betrayed the
\nnation, which went through so much and made great sacrifices in
\npushing for political reform. Most of the 700 MPR members forget
\nthey owe their positions to the student-led reform movement,
\nwhich defied the military's might in 1998 to put an end to
\nSoeharto's 32-year dictatorship. It was then widely believed that
\nending the military's role in politics was essential to building
\na real and long-lasting democracy and civil society in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
We reserve our greatest disappointment however for the
\nnation's top three leaders -- Abdurrahman, Megawati and Amien --
\nwho on Nov. 10, 1998, took over the leadership of the reform
\nmovement from the students to give it a wider mass appeal and
\ndirection. The three, joined by Yogyakarta Sultan Hamengkubuwono
\nX during a meeting at Abdurrahman's residence in Ciganjur, South
\nJakarta, were not in public office at the time but were widely
\nrespected public figures not tainted by the corrupt regime.<\/p>\n
We still remember vividly when they read out the historic
\nCiganjur Declaration after their meeting, giving impetus to the
\nreform movement. On the point of the military's political role,
\nthey managed to calm the students, who insisted the military
\nimmediately leave the political arena, by promising TNI would be
\nphased out of politics by 2004. Abdurrahman, Megawati and Amien
\nhave not even bothered to publicly explain their position
\nthroughout the current debate, let alone carry out their promise.<\/p>\n
The day the MPR decrees the extension of TNI's role in
\npolitics to 2009 or writes that role into the 1945 Constitution,
\nis the day the nation will feel a deep sense of betrayal by its
\nleaders.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/a-betrayal-1447899208",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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