Foreign scholars urge ABRI to quit politics<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The powerful Armed Forces (ABRI) must relinquish
\nits political role if it wants to help democracy develop in the
\ncountry, according to a foreign political scientist.<\/p>\n
Daniel S. Lev, a professor of political science at the
\nUniversity of Washington in Seattle, said yesterday this was the
\nmost historical moment for Indonesia as within these two years
\npeople would decide whether democracy or the military should
\ntriumph.<\/p>\n
\"Through the next general election and the general session of
\nthe People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), the people will decide
\non the appropriate political system in Indonesia and on the fate
\nof the (ABRI) dual function,\" he said in a panel discussion on
\nABRI organized by the Association of Indonesian Television
\nJournalists here.<\/p>\n
He said there would not be total reform in Indonesia if ABRI
\nclung on to its current role in politics.<\/p>\n
\"Dual function\" is the doctrine that enables ABRI to have both
\na security and political role. The concept has been widely
\ncriticized because it has led to pervasive interference in many
\nspheres of people's lives.<\/p>\n
\"History has shown ABRI's failure to maintain its dual role in
\npolitics and defense ... It has for around 40 years become 'a
\nstrong political party' because it possesses guns (while dabbling
\nin politics),\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said the implementation of the dual function had caused
\ngreat losses to the people, to the government and to ABRI itself
\nand \"this proves that ABRI's dual role has failed\".<\/p>\n
He called on the Indonesian people to make an honest and fair
\nevaluation of the dual function by considering what has
\ntranspired over its 40-year existence.<\/p>\n
Over the past 40 years, ABRI has also been used by the first
\ntwo governments as a political tool to maintain the status quo.<\/p>\n
\"You can imagine how many people have been killed by ABRI in
\nits operations to support the governments' policies,\" he said.<\/p>\n
R. William Liddle, a professor of political science at Ohio
\nState University in the United States, concurred and said that
\npeople now had a golden opportunity to create a democratic
\ngovernment following the more than -30 years of military
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
He said that Indonesia was now between \"fact\" (that the 30-
\nyear military regime has ended with the resignation of former
\npresident Soeharto in May) and \"possibility\" (of ABRI's return to
\npower).<\/p>\n
He said that despite the government's commitment to democracy,
\nit was not transparent whether ABRI agreed with total reform or
\nnot.<\/p>\n
\"ABRI's unclear stance was seen when it did nothing to force
\nSoeharto to step down as demanded by the reform movement,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He hailed President B.J. Habibie's commitment to hold an MPR
\nspecial session and a democratic general election in his efforts
\nto let the people create a democratic government.<\/p>\n
\"As a weak president, Habibie has made an appropriate policy
\nto uphold democracy and to implement the IMF-sponsored reform
\npackage and his term of office is expected to be accepted until
\nthe MPR general session in 1999,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Another speaker, Amien Rais, chairman of Muhammadiyah Moslem
\norganization, said the dual function should be maintained but
\nABRI should phase out its involvement in politics in an effort to
\ncreate a civil society.<\/p>\n
He said it was difficult not to involve ABRI in politics
\nbecause it was born amid the national struggle for the country's
\nindependence.<\/p>\n
He said ABRI could reduce its role in politics by not allowing
\nits active members to hold political positions.<\/p>\n
House Deputy Speaker Let. Gen. Hari Sabarno claimed that ABRI
\nwas committed to reform and democracy. He said democracy was
\nnothing new for ABRI.<\/p>\n
He said that ABRI was reviewing its dual function and would
\nreduce its role in politics.<\/p>\n
Reluctance<\/p>\n
In yet another political discussion, Liddle and Harold Crouch
\nof the Australian National University said that despite its many
\npro-reform statements made over the past months, there was still
\n\"reluctance\" within ABRI to push for total reform.<\/p>\n
They believed the problem rested with the institution's desire
\nto retain power.<\/p>\n
Citing his conversation with \"a member of the circle around\"
\nABRI Commander Gen. Wiranto, Crouch said he had been told not to
\nthink that all military officers were interested in reform.<\/p>\n
\"Look, you must realize that not all ABRI officers think the
\nway that I think,\" he quoted the unnamed officer as saying in a
\ndiscussion organized by the Centre for Strategic and
\nInternational Studies yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"The majority of officers are more interested in their careers
\nand that sort of thing... still hoping to be appointed
\ngovernors, ministers, regents, directors of big enterprises,
\nambassadors and things like that,\" Crouch said he was told.<\/p>\n
He said the desire for such appointments was contradictory to
\nABRI's recent statement that it would seek only to become a
\nbackseat driver in politics, a move which many believed was a
\nshow of willingness by ABRI to reduce its sociopolitical role.<\/p>\n
\"(But) certainly ABRI is very much on the defensive at the
\npresent. Now one of the problems... is that ABRI is not the only
\npolitical actor now,\" Crouch said.<\/p>\n
Liddle concurred and identified a likely coalition of Golkar
\nChairman Akbar Tandjung, President B.J. Habibie and Gen. Wiranto
\nto ensure Golkar's victory in the next year's general election.<\/p>\n
\"It's Wiranto's strategy, too, that Golkar should win,\" he
\nsaid. He argued Wiranto would lose his position if Habibie failed
\nto be elected president at the end of next year and Golkar also
\nlost the election. (aan\/rms)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/foreign-scholars-urge-abri-to-quit-politics-1447893297",
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