A TNI of a different color<\/p>\n
From Pelita<\/p>\n
It is said that in the past the Indonesian Communist Party
\n(PKI), through its military branch, was able to infiltrate the
\nIndonesian Military (TNI). This communist infiltration gave the
\nTNI's path a red color. Similarly, when Golkar dominated the New
\nOrder government, TNI was strongly influenced by the yellow
\ncolor. These changes of color throughout TNI's history indicate,
\nin a way, that TNI belongs to the people. In other words, TNI's
\ncolor was a reflection of the people's condition.<\/p>\n
However, when seen from another angle, the colors depicted a
\nforce with an ideological nuance or significance, and were thus
\nprimitive in nature. When the people are engaged in conflicts as
\nwe are witnessing now, the TNI's color loses popularity, which
\ngives rise to polemics.<\/p>\n
During the New Order era, the dominant Golkar's supporters
\nwere happy to see high-ranking military officers wearing yellow
\njackets. On the other hand, those who did not support Golkar were
\nneither happy nor did they feel that they were the owners of TNI.
\nEven worse, they felt the TNI was their enemy.<\/p>\n
The question now is what color should TNI adopt? Can it choose
\nits own color and adopt its own political identity? If so, TNI
\ncould then be regarded as a neutral force. But when conflicts
\nbetween the ruling government and the opposition arise, which
\nside does the TNI defend? The situation will become increasingly
\ndifficult if TNI's policies differ from those of the conflicting
\nparties. So the involvement of TNI with conflicting parties must
\nbe avoided. Only then can we say that TNI belongs to all the
\npeople. There is no yellow TNI, no green TNI and no red TNI.<\/p>\n
One argument is that TNI's policy is the state's or
\ngovernment's policy. Does this mean that TNI's policy is the
\npolicy of the ruling party? If so, is this not a paradox? The
\nanswer is \"no\". Because the rationale is that every nation must
\nhave a government. And the government comes into being through a
\nprocess called a general election. Like it or not, a general
\nelection produces a winner and a loser.<\/p>\n
All people are ready to see the TNI follow the policies of the
\nwinning political party. However, the people do not want to see
\nthe TNI play a part in the general election and help one party
\nwin or lose the elections, because this would be seen as the TNI
\ntaking sides. That the TNI should follow the policy of the ruling
\nparty is sensible enough because every government must be backed
\nby a strong military. In this context, TNI members who sit in the
\nPeople's Consultative Assembly should give their votes to all
\nparties proportionally. Or is it otherwise?<\/p>\n
ANDI SURYA<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/a-tni-of-a-different-color-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }