ABRI, democracy not incompatible' general says<\/p>\n
By Ridwan M. Sijabat<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The military in Indonesia has played a major
\nrole in laying the foundations for democracy and it intends to
\ncontinue to play that role well into the future, Brig. Gen.
\nTaheri Noor said yesterday.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) faction spokesman in the
\nHouse of Representatives stressed that the military, despite its
\nhierarchical command structure, was not incompatible with
\ndemocracy.<\/p>\n
In an interview with The Jakarta Post, Brig. Gen. Taheri said
\nABRI's role in politics was still misunderstood at times.<\/p>\n
\"The democracy practiced in the military organization is most
\nextraordinary,\" he said. \"You will find that ABRI faction members
\nin the House are more democratic than those from other (civilian)
\nfactions.\"<\/p>\n
Democracy was practiced consistently in the military, he said,
\nright down to the lowest levels, with all decisions being made
\nthrough democratic procedures.<\/p>\n
\"It is normal to see low-ranking officers, such as corporals
\nand privates, providing input to their superiors in a decision-
\nmaking process, or a commander listening to suggestions from
\nothers before making up his mind,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The difference between the Armed Forces and civilian
\norganizations, he said, was that once a decision had been made in
\nABRI everyone abided by it.<\/p>\n
\"This is one of the factors that has made the military
\norganization more established and more unified,\" he said. \"This
\nis what makes ABRI different from other factions in the House.\"<\/p>\n
ABRI's role in the House has been the subject of debate in
\nrecent weeks for two reasons. The first is the government-
\ninitiated bill to reduce the number of reserved ABRI seats in the
\nHouse from 100 to 75. The other is the recent reshuffle, or \"mid-
\nterm transfer of duty\", within the faction, with the appointment
\nof 25 new military faces in the House.<\/p>\n
The bill is enjoying a smooth passage and is expected to be
\npassed this Thursday. The actual reduction, however, will only be
\neffected in 1997 during the general election.<\/p>\n
During the New Order period ABRI's legislators have sat side
\nby side with civilian legislators. Many of them have made a name
\nfor themselves for their boldness. The debate on political
\nopenness in the late 1980s, for example, was initiated by ABRI
\nmembers.<\/p>\n
Taheri, a former officer of ABRI's Intelligence Board, said
\nABRI would maintain its presence in the legislative body in order
\nto ensure national stability and unity and to safeguard the
\nPancasila ideology and the 1945 Constitution.<\/p>\n
The military in Indonesia had a unique function, he said; one
\nthat the military in other countries did not have. \"It is the
\nnation's greatness that its military is able to perform two
\nfunctions simultaneously.\"<\/p>\n
ABRI's dual role, in defense as well as in politics, had been
\nwidely-accepted in society, he added.<\/p>\n
Members of the Armed Forces do not vote and cannot run in
\nelections. Instead, they are allocated seats in the House of
\nRepresentatives, currently 100 of the 500 seats. The other 400
\nseats are contested by the three political organizations.<\/p>\n
Taheri said the reduction in the number of ABRI seats to 75
\nwould not affect the way the faction worked.<\/p>\n
He also played down the significance of the recent reshuffle
\nin the faction which saw a number of prominent generals entering
\nthe House.<\/p>\n
Among 25 new ABRI appointments in the House were five men of
\nthe rank of major general -- Ismail, Theo Syafei, Haris Sudarno,
\nHari Sabarno and Iskandar Kamil -- and a handful of brigadier
\ngenerals, including Afifuddin Thaib, Ambo Eteng Amin and Djoko
\nSardjono.<\/p>\n
The current ABRI faction chairman, Abu Hartono, has remained,
\nbut change is imminent as he is reportedly being groomed for an
\nambassadorial post.<\/p>\n
Some political analysts have interpreted the new composition
\nof the ABRI faction as reflecting a desire to strengthen the
\nfaction's personnel in anticipation of the cut in the number of
\nseats.<\/p>\n
Taheri insisted, however, that the reshuffle was a \"routine\"
\none. \"The mid-term reshuffle is a routine event. We usually do it
\nthree times during the five years of the House's life-cycle to
\nreinvigorate the faction.\"<\/p>\n
He said had ABRI replaced 15 legislators last year and would
\nbe making further replacements in December.<\/p>\n
He declined to disclose any strategic and political reasons
\nbehind the reshuffle, saying that the decision was made by ABRI's
\nleadership.<\/p>",
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