ABRI's role in the game<\/p>\n
The question as to what position the Armed Forces should take
\nin general elections is hotly debated every five years.<\/p>\n
However, although the next general election is due next year,
\nnobody raised the issue until last week, when Army Chief of Staff
\nGen. Hartono proclaimed in Central Java on Wednesday that all
\nABRI members are cadres of the ruling political grouping, Golkar.
\nHis statement provoked immediate outrage among some political
\nobservers. They believe the view tarnishes the image of ABRI as
\nan impartial political force, and betrays the public's trust.<\/p>\n
Hartono is the first Army chief of staff to ever make such a
\nstatement. The fact he is the first was confirmed by Gen. Rudini,
\nwho held Hartono's position between 1983 and 1986. The retired
\ngeneral, who as minister of home affairs was responsible for the
\ndevelopment of national politics in President Soeharto's previous
\ncabinet, was quoted as saying on Thursday that \"there is no
\nalternative to ABRI staying impartial\". He said his view was
\nshared by his predecessors.<\/p>\n
Even though Hartono's view is grounded in the historical fact
\nthat Golkar was established by ABRI, it is still illogical. If
\nthe Armed Forces are \"owned\" by one political grouping, who will
\ndefend those Indonesians who pay their taxes to finance the Armed
\nForces, yet hold different political views?<\/p>\n
ABRI's role in Golkar's foundation came in the early 1960s
\nwhen patriotic Indonesians of all stripes were fighting to
\ncontain the growing influence of the Indonesian Communist Party
\n(PKI). The Army's support for Golkar, which was welcomed by a
\nclutch of anti-communist elements of various persuasions, was
\nlater shown to have been an effective strategy. But it should be
\nviewed as a temporary strategy. The situation has changed. All
\npolitical entities today have adopted Pancasila as their
\nideological basis and the PKI has long been buried.<\/p>\n
If ABRI members were indeed cadres of a political constant,
\nthey would obviously be in opposition to members of other groups.
\nThis would make the general election a farcical soccer match in
\nwhich the referee joins the game.<\/p>\n
ABRI has nurtured Golkar long enough. If they must take a
\nstand, they could help develop the other two political
\ncontestants, the United Development Party and the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party. Both are national assets and part of the
\npolitical infrastructure protected by the same law as Golkar, and
\nthus deserve equal treatment.<\/p>\n
This debate might drag on and on. Yet we need only look to the
\nnation's constitution, the principle source of national law and
\nmidwife at the birth of the Armed Forces, to end it. The
\nIndonesian military is the child of the 1945 revolution, and was
\nset up by the fledgling Indonesian nation whose people wanted to
\ntake part in the defense of their newly-proclaimed independence.
\nThe Constitution gave every Indonesian, regardless of their
\npolitical views, ethnic and religious background, equal rights.<\/p>\n
The father of the Armed Forces, the late Gen. Sudirman, said
\nit most succinctly during the revolution: \"The military has no
\npolitics, its politics are the nation's politics.\"<\/p>\n
This statement was memorably paraphrased by Armed Forces
\nCommander Gen. L. B. Moerdani, before the 1987 general election;
\nHe stated that ABRI's duties in elections are as follows: to
\nguard, to protect and to supervise.<\/p>\n
Chief of the Udayana Military Command, Maj. Gen. Sahala
\nRajagukguk, whose jurisdiction covers Bali, East Nusa Tenggara
\nand East Timor, declared afterwards that \"ABRI is not the
\nproperty of any political grouping. It will continue to take all
\nIndonesians under its wings.\"<\/p>\n
This attitude is sound; the military is only subordinate to
\nthe ruling political party in communist regimes, such as China,
\nor the now-defunct Soviet Union, before its collapse.<\/p>\n
Thus Hartono's statement doesn't just strike us as bizarre,
\nbut also as illogical, because ABRI was set up by the whole
\nnation, not by a single political group. Its ties with Golkar
\nwere a historical necessity, but now the military should consider
\nits primary obligation building a sound political system.<\/p>\n
If ABRI supports only Golkar in the next general election,
\nIndonesia will have failed in its effort to evolve a viable new
\npolitical system, and will ultimately be left behind by its
\nneighbors, who have been successful in both their economic and
\npolitical development.<\/p>\n
Stagnation in our political development will surely have a
\ndisastrous impact on our economic achievements to date.<\/p>",
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