Kudos to TNI<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Military (TNI) must be one of the few
\ninstitutions whose work and contributions to the emergency relief
\neffort in disaster-stricken areas in Aceh and North Sumatra has
\nnot been fully appreciated. There is even the sense that the
\nIndonesian media (including this newspaper) have been giving
\ngreater, if not more positive, coverage to the relief efforts of
\nforeign militaries in our own backyard.<\/p>\n
This, however, says more about the state-of-the-art equipment
\n(the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier off the coast of Aceh
\nis just too awesome) and, to some extent, the efficiency of the
\nforeign militaries relative to the TNI. It does not say who is
\ndoing the most work in Aceh and North Sumatra today, for that
\nwould undoubtedly be the TNI.<\/p>\n
Is this a case of unfair treatment of our own military?<\/p>\n
You could say that. But it is also a reflection of the high
\nexpectations many people have placed on the TNI as the nation
\nsuffers through the worst of what UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
\ndescribed as a global catastrophe.<\/p>\n
It is also a sign that the nation is looking to the TNI, being
\nliterally on the front line in this war against Mother Nature's
\nwrath, to be the first and the most active in lending a hand to
\nthe victims of the earthquake and tsunami that struck on Dec. 26.<\/p>\n
For all our differences of opinion about the presence of the
\nmilitary command in Aceh, this "territorial structure" means the
\nTNI is the only group in the area that has the organization,
\npersonnel, equipment, skill and capability to provide immediate
\nassistance to the victims of disasters. No other organization can
\nmatch the TNI, not even the civilian provincial administration,
\nwhich lost a third of its employees.<\/p>\n
Did the TNI perform up to expectations? The lack of
\nappreciation given to the military suggests that, in the eyes of
\nmany people in this country, it did not. But this is an unfair
\nassessment born more out of ignorance -- and lack of media
\ncoverage -- and unfairly high expectations.<\/p>\n
The TNI has a disproportionately heavy presence in Aceh
\nbecause of the ongoing operation to quell the separatist Free
\nAceh Movement (GAM). But Mother Nature does not discriminate and
\nthe earthquake and tsunami hit members of the TNI and their
\nfamilies, and we suspect some GAM rebels and their families, just
\nas hard as it hit civilian targets. The TNI, like the police and
\nthe civilians they are supposed to defend, suffered many losses
\nin this disaster.<\/p>\n
Soldiers were confronted with the impossible choice of putting
\ntheir military duties first or rescuing and protecting their own
\nfamilies. One heroic but rarely told story of this disaster is
\nthat many soldiers bravely performed their duties knowing that
\ntheir own families were in jeopardy.<\/p>\n
In the aftermath of the disaster, TNI soldiers were well
\npositioned to conduct rescue operations, to take the injured to
\nhospitals, to administer first aid and to set up tents for the
\ndisplaced. This they did out of their sense of duty, and in most
\ncases, without the media publicity.<\/p>\n
Instead, most of the reports that came out were more about
\ntheir shortcomings, from their supposed slow response and lack of
\ncoordination to suggestions that some officers were selling food
\naid intended for victims. Some of these reports may have had some
\ntruth in them, but they should not negate the big picture, which
\nis that overall the TNI did its job under the most difficult of
\nconditions.<\/p>\n
One could always argue, after the fact, that the TNI could,
\nand should, have done a lot more given its strong presence in
\nAceh. Had it not been for its poor reputation among the people of
\nAceh, the TNI should even have been given the task of
\ncoordinating the entire humanitarian operation currently underway
\nbecause it is the one organization on the ground that has the
\ncapacity and network to do so.<\/p>\n
Long before the civilian government in Jakarta made up its
\nmind about coordinating the emergency relief operations, the TNI
\nhad already appointed Maj. Gen. Bambang Darmono to coordinate
\nwith foreign militaries. The success of the foreign military
\nmissions in ferrying relief supplies to the most remote areas on
\nthe western coast of Aceh could not have been achieved without
\ndirection from the TNI.<\/p>\n
For all its faults and shortcomings, our TNI has done what is
\nexpected of it and probably a lot more. Many soldiers and their
\nfamilies have made sacrifices for the nation, some even went
\nbeyond the call of duty. Their work and contributions to the Aceh
\nhumanitarian operation should not only be recognized, but also
\nwidely applauded.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/kudos-to-tni-1447899208",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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