ABRI not here just to clean up<\/p>\n
DEPOK, West Java (JP): A top military official says the Armed
\nForces (ABRI) is no longer willing to clean up the mess left by
\nother people's incompetence.<\/p>\n
Chief of ABRI sociopolitical affairs Lt. Gen. Syarwan Hamid
\nsaid in a discussion with students at the University of Indonesia
\nhere Saturday that in the past ABRI had always acted as a \"fire
\nextinguisher\" on social unrest.<\/p>\n
Now, however, the military \"will no longer be a repressive
\nforce\", he said.<\/p>\n
\"We are ready to be 'controlled',\" he told some 300 people in
\nthe audience. He did not elaborate.<\/p>\n
Syarwan noted that the military's previous \"repressive\"
\napproach was called for because of other institutions'
\nincompetent handling of social and economic matters, such as
\nlabor and land disputes. He specifically named the All-Indonesia
\nWorkers Union, the only government sanctioned labor union in the
\ncountry, as an example of the institutions.<\/p>\n
\"ABRI looks forward to seeing each party (in society) function
\nproperly,\" he said. \"Depending on force alone does not solve
\nproblems.\"<\/p>\n
Syarwan, however, dismissed the suggestion that ABRI will now
\ndo away with its security approach. He pointed out that the
\nconcept of \"security approach\" did not allude to repression.<\/p>\n
\"Security approach does not mean a repressive approach. It is
\na vision,\" he said. \"Any institution which neglects security will
\nperish. And that also applies to a nation.\"<\/p>\n
\"Threats toward a nation will never disappear. It means that
\nthe security approach cannot be abandoned, but we are giving it a
\nsmaller role,\" Syarwan explained.<\/p>\n
Cautious<\/p>\n
Syarwan, who was appointed to the post only last month, was
\ncautious when speaking about the much-demanded political
\nopenness. He admitted that there was a need for greater corridors
\nbut stressed that openness should only be given in such a way
\nwhich does not jeopardize order.<\/p>\n
\"This openness should develop inside a safety zone. We don't
\nwant it to get out of control. We want to manage it so that it
\nwon't run wild,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The discussion was part of a week-long leadership course,
\nwhich concluded yesterday, for the university's freshmen and
\nsecond-year students.<\/p>\n
It gave the participants an overview of the domestic political
\nscene and featured prominent speakers such as poet and writer
\nEmha Ainun Nadjib, former TV talk show host Wimar Witoelar and
\npolitical observer Ekky Syahrudin.<\/p>\n
Ekky, a student activist during the political upheavals of the
\n1960s, gave a critical view of the military role and stressed the
\nneed for the establishment of a strong civil society.<\/p>\n
\"Do military members deserve to feel they have greater rights
\nthan civilians to determine the nation's goals?\" he questioned.<\/p>\n
However, he also pointed out that the military is actually a
\npart of civil society, in the sense that soldiers, after they
\ncomplete their service, eventually go back to being civilians.<\/p>\n
\"What's really permanent is the civil society (and)...its
\nprinciples,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The interrelation of the military and civilians is further
\nshown in the fact that in the long run a weak civil society will
\nweaken the military, he concluded.<\/p>\n
Emha, known for his often blunt commentary on politics, said
\nthat the closer he got to people in ABRI, \"the lesser my hopes
\nbecome\" of the kind of military that Syarwan envisions.<\/p>\n
\"Military officers like General Syarwan who likes to discuss
\nthings are a good sign,\" he said. \"But if you go to remoter
\nplaces, Pak Syarwan, you'll see officers who are hopeless.\"<\/p>\n
He then described a few instances of social unrest which the
\nmilitary handled badly, including the shooting of four villagers
\nin Nipah, Sampang, East Java in 1993.<\/p>\n
During the question-answer session, Syarwan again defended his
\nposition. \"It is the obsession of ABRI to maintain continuous
\ndevelopment,\" he said. \"I remind you that ABRI is committed to
\nthe people. We won't step back from this commitment.\"<\/p>\n
Wimar, whose controversial talk show was abruptly halted last
\nyear, spoke of the widening social gap. \"We need democracy to
\nredress the gap,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Syarwan on Saturday also spoke of the independent poll
\nwatchdog recently established by a group of intellectuals and
\nactivists. He said his earlier statements were never meant to
\ncondone the Independent Election Monitoring Committee.<\/p>\n
\"ABRI will welcome anybody who wants to have positive
\ninvolvement in the 1997 general election. But they should not try
\nto compete with the official institution,\" he said. (06)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/abri-not-here-just-to-clean-up-1447893297",
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