ABRI at 53 years old<\/p>\n
ABRI, the Armed Forces, celebrates its 53rd anniversary today
\nagainst a backdrop of declining public popularity.<\/p>\n
The new reality is that people are extremely disappointed with
\nthe excessive implementation of ABRI's right, bequeathed to it by
\nthe Soeharto regime, to intervene in all national activities
\nwithout limit or supervision. The privilege has made ABRI believe
\nit can do no wrong.<\/p>\n
Never before has our military appeared in the limelight with
\nsuch a frightful face. But perhaps this is not surprising because
\nfor more than three decades it served as an effective tool of the
\nauthoritarian regime, and in doing so almost pushed the nation to
\nthe brink of calamity.<\/p>\n
Soeharto, with ABRI's help, denied the people their
\nconstitutional rights for the sake of economic development. Now,
\nwith the economy collapsed, nobody has jumped forward to tell us
\nwhat is left for the nation? We see there are bleeding wounds in
\nthe hearts of the people who were harassed to vote for Golkar,
\nSoeharto's election machine. There is also an ill-favored soap
\nopera in which military officers occupy civilian posts without
\nrestriction.<\/p>\n
And in the darker chapters of the country's history, such as
\nthe 1984 Tanjung Priok incident and East Timor, are
\nmanifestations of official bloodbaths, most recently brought to
\nlight in the discovery of killing fields in Aceh. Added to this
\nmust be the observation that those responsible for the
\nattrocities remain undisturbed in their highly placed positions.<\/p>\n
The stories of the unbelievable acts of violence and human
\nrights violations are beyond comparison. Heartless tyrants from
\nAfrica, Bosnia-Herzegovina or Cambodia -- if they still deem it
\nnecessary to learn more about the massacre of innocent people
\nwithout an eyewitness daring to open his or her mouth -- should
\ncome here to study the art of the management of fear.<\/p>\n
Now, at 53 years of age, ABRI has to be seen to be
\nappreciating that its popularity is dwindling as the appeals
\nintensify for the end of its dual function. The latest
\nmanifestation of its poor public image came in a recent
\nindependent survey, which found that 46.5 percent of the
\nrespondents did not believe ABRI was really protecting the
\npeople, compared to 39.1 percent who believed it was and 14.4
\npercent who abstained.<\/p>\n
The survey also found as many as 50.2 percent did not believe
\nin the veracity of the slogan \"ABRI and the people are one\", 42.6
\npercent said they believed the military was united with the
\npeople, while 7.3 percent said they did not know. The poll,
\ntitled ABRI and the People, was conducted by the Center for the
\nStudy of Development and Democracy (CESDA), a body linked to the
\nrespected Institute for Social and Economic Research, Education
\nand Information (LP3ES).<\/p>\n
In light of the unremitting demands for reform, we have
\nrepeatedly expressed the hope that ABRI leaders do not fail to
\nunderstand the social change as a sign of the times. But we have
\nnot seen them understand that ABRI's dual function has already
\nbecome an anachronism and anathema to democratic values.<\/p>\n
They even keep threatening to take stern measures against
\nreform-minded students and suspect political activists of having
\nthe desire to disturb public order.<\/p>\n
This tendency among high-ranking generals shows they lack any
\nunderstanding of history, in that it is not only civilians who
\nhave a habit to cause trouble. Military officers too have got
\ninvolved in many national tragedies, from the kidnapping of prime
\nminister Sutan Syahrir in Surakarta in 1946, the show of force
\nagainst president Sukarno in front of the palace in 1952, the
\nPRRI colonels' rebellions in Sumatra and North Sulawesi in 1958,
\nto the 1965 communist coup attempt. The bloody clash between
\nmilitary units, in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, last week was not
\nan unprecedented modern melodrama.<\/p>\n
Clear demonstrations that ABRI leaders are reluctant to bow to
\npopular demand are that they have refused to bring to justice
\nthose involved in Trisakti students shooting in May and only
\nfired Lt. Gen. Prabowo, who admitted to ordering the kidnapping
\nof political activists and have done nothing to punish the
\nofficers who were involved in the brutal murder of Marsinah, an
\nEast Java labor activist. The policy is clearly based on an
\nefforts to show internal solidarity among ABRI members.<\/p>\n
Such a policy will be counter-productive. As time goes on, the
\ngenerals' insensitivity will only see the military being even
\nfurther shunned by the people.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/abri-at-53-years-old-1447893297",
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