Hate, fear or jealousy?<\/p>\n
In the last few months the Armed Forces' (ABRI) role has come
\nunder attack from many sides, such as from students, political
\nparties, organizations and so on. It seems that ABRI can do no
\ngood anymore and it often becomes the scapegoat for all kinds of
\nincidents. What is the underlying factor of this attitude?<\/p>\n
Of course ABRI has made mistakes, politically speaking, and so
\nhas earned the criticism of certain quarters of the Indonesian
\ncommunity, and the casus belli is of course ABRI's dual function.<\/p>\n
Let us take a closer look at what is called the dual function.
\nIn short, it is the sociopolitical role played by the Armed
\nForces besides its basic function as a fighting force. This role
\nhas very strong roots in Indonesian history.<\/p>\n
The late Gen. Soedirman, godfather of the Indonesian National
\nArmy (TNI) said: "TNI is born because of the Aug. 17, 1945
\nproclamation, lives with the proclamation and vows to defend the
\nsacredness of the proclamation. The only thing the Republic owned
\nwhich is still whole and intact and has not changed, in spite of
\nall challenges and changes, is the TNI."<\/p>\n
Gen. TB Simatupang, former Armed Forces chief of staff said:
\n"It can be said that our TNI generation has a twin or dual
\npersonality. On one side they are military people but on the
\nother side they consider themselves as national fighters."<\/p>\n
Gen. AH Nasution, a prominent military thinker expressed: "The
\nposition of the TNI is not only as a tool of the civilians like
\nin Western countries and also not as a military regime which
\nholds the power of the country, but the TNI is a social force, a
\nforce of the people working shoulder to shoulder with other
\npeople's forces."<\/p>\n
But the political parties are not too happy with the
\nsituation, because they see this as a challenge to their
\npolitical life and existence. Even in the beginning the late
\npresident Sukarno, a seasoned politician, was not very happy with
\nthis condition. In his state address in August 1953, Bung Karno
\nsaid: "The Oct. 17 affair occurred because ABRI wants to play
\npolitics. This is what will happen when ABRI participates in
\npolitics, while in fact ABRI should not be allowed to participate
\nin politics. ABRI is a tool of the power of the State, an armed
\ntool, a tool and once again only a tool. Participation in
\npolitics will create a rift." (Just to refresh your memory, the
\nOct. 17 affair was when the Armed Forces took artillery to the
\npalace and demanded the dissolution of the House of
\nRepresentatives). But Bung Karno, as an experienced political and
\nvery clever in assessing the political pulse of the nation,
\nchanged his position 180 degrees.<\/p>\n
In front of the People's Consultative Assembly on April 22,
\n1957 he stated clearly the opposite. He said: "It is only fair
\nand more logical, more rational and a must when representatives
\nof functional groups (armed forces is included in this political
\ncategory) are placed in all government bodies, where we can find
\nalso representatives of political parties, because functional
\ngroups are a tool of democracy. ABRI has shown its merits in the
\npast and we still need it in the future. In is only fair that it
\ngets a place in the coming House of People's Representatives, so
\nthat in the future it can participate in deciding the course of
\nthe state and in the creation of a just and prosperous society."<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, ABRI has made many mistakes that cannot be
\ndenied. These mistakes have been cleverly manipulated by the
\ncommunity to blacken ABRI's image. It is accused of violating
\nhuman rights and also of incapability in maintaining law and
\norder. There is no fair judgment anymore.<\/p>\n
So I think that the underlying factor of the sentiments
\nagainst ABRI at this moment is not really hate but fear on the
\npart of the political parties that their role be curtailed. They
\nmake good use of the simmering situation and through
\ndemonstrations and all kinds of efforts they manage to create
\nanti ABRI sentiments.<\/p>\n
SOEGIH ARTO<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hate-fear-or-jealousy-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }