ABRI source of fascination<\/p>\n
The Armed Forces of Indonesia
\n By Robert Lowry
\n ALLEN & UNWIN, NSW, February 1997
\n Paperback, 282 pages<\/p>\n
MELBOURNE (JP): It would not be an exaggeration to say
\nIndonesia's Armed Forces has been a source of fascination,
\nspeculation and awe for people in the region, be they inside or
\noutside Indonesia. Excellent books have been written and
\npublished in English by academics and journalists like Harold
\nCrouch, Ulf Sundhaussen and David Jenkins, about Indonesia's
\nArmed Forces and its role in the nation's political movements.
\nThe publication of Robert Lowry's book, The Armed Forces of
\nIndonesia, the first in The Armed Forces of Asia series, is a
\ntimely addition to the collection. And it is particularly useful
\nfor those seeking an overall picture of the country's military
\npower, known nationally as ABRI, in one reading.<\/p>\n
The book will demystify ABRI for outsiders, and demythify ABRI
\nin the eyes of many Indonesians, who have only experienced its
\npresence, influence, some its might, and have never stepped aside
\nto see it in its entirety. It is also a concise history of ABRI
\nas part of, and outside of, the New Order. It is impossible to
\nunderstand the workings of Indonesia's New Order and predict
\nchanges ahead without understanding ABRI. And predictions abound
\nwith the May election imminent.<\/p>\n
While Lowry touches on the formation of the Army during the
\nstruggle for independence, and the subsequent establishment of
\nthe Air force and the Navy, he concentrates more on ABRI's
\ndevelopment and transformation in the period after 1965. He
\nexplores in detail what he sees as the three functions of ABRI:
\ndefense, internal security and regime maintenance, against the
\nbackground of the wider context of domestic politics and national
\ndefense and security policy.<\/p>\n
Lowry paints a picture both from inside and outside, and
\ndepicts a very interesting struggle between the rhetoric of
\nideals and the problems of implementing them.<\/p>\n
Based on traditional Javanese world view, ABRI's doctrinal
\nmanuals depicts itself in a holistic manner, where every element
\nis part of a component which in turns, is a part of a hierarchy
\nof subsystems forming the whole system. Unity, of the forces
\nthemselves, and of the nation as a community, is paramount. Since
\nits inception in 1945 ABRI has defeated or contained all armed
\nchallenges to the state and armed separatist movements seen as
\nthreats to national unity and cohesiveness. It therefore
\njustifies its involvement in the domestic politics, and the
\nArmy's dominance over the other forces.<\/p>\n
It is in the name of maintaining this cohesiveness, it seems,
\nthat ABRI's influence has been built into the legislative and
\nexecutive powers. Its interests are represented in the
\nlegislature through Golkar and through the service personnel who
\nare appointed to 20 percent of the seats at national, province
\nand district levels of legislature. And Lowry observes that
\nABRI's internal security and political roles have become
\nentwined, being as much concerned with entrenching its own
\npolitical dominance as with containing insurgency and separatism.<\/p>\n
A lot of the political activism has been classified as an
\ninternal security problem and dealt with by the use of violence
\nor threat of violence rather than political means.<\/p>\n
During the War of Independence military commanders were placed
\nover the civil authorities, as the nation was in an all-out
\nstruggle against a foreign enemy. This practice however, has been
\ncontinued in overcoming internal security problems. Instead of
\ncoopting insurgents and dissenters back into civil society, the
\nmilitary tend to regard them as the enemies of the state, hence
\njustifying the use of force against them.<\/p>\n
In the chapter about ABRI in business, Lowry throws the
\nlimelight right back to the time of the revolution, where many
\nArmy and militia units had to fend for themselves, then traces
\nthis to the present era, where the nation is faced with problems
\narising from ABRI's business associations.<\/p>\n
The book credits ABRI with having achieved its task:
\noverseeing the defense and security of Indonesia over the last 50
\nyears. Considering the country's size, location, economic
\nunderdevelopment, geographic fragmentation, and ethnic and
\nreligious diversity, it was no mean feat.<\/p>\n
In the conclusion, Lowry suggests that since ABRI does not
\ncredit civilians with much administrative abilities, it will be
\nreluctant to step back from its political role if reform only
\nmeans greater political power for the bureaucracy. Interestingly,
\nto win ABRI's support, the social change away from military
\nauthoritarian rule, will have to give greater political power to
\nsociety at large.<\/p>\n
The book is more like a picture in its lack of ponderousness,
\nyet it is very informative. It should appeal to those who do not
\nnecessarily want an in-depth study of Indonesian politics, but
\nseek a much better understanding of what makes Indonesia tick.<\/p>\n
-- Dewi Anggraeni<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/abri-source-of-fascination-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }