May people establish an army?<\/p>\n
Intensified media reports on the Aceh question, usually
\ndwelling on the conflicts between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM)
\nand its armed wing (AGAM) on the one hand and the Indonesian
\nMilitary (TNI) on the other, very clearly indicate that the mass
\nmedia favor GAM and AGAM and tend to take the TNI to task. Of so
\nmany reports and analyses published in the mass media, only very
\nfew question whether or not individual groups of people, like the
\nAcehnese, for example, are allowed to set up their own armies and
\nwhat the legal sanction would be if they set up such armies.<\/p>\n
This is something that I really fail to understand. The people
\nof Aceh, which is still a legitimate part of the Republic of
\nIndonesia, now have an illegal army known as AGAM, and many of
\nour national and political elite simply let them get away with
\nit. As a result, AGAM is getting stronger and stronger and has
\nnow openly declared war against TNI, which is the legitimate
\nmilitary force of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
So where is the concern of our elite? They have instead shaped
\na public opinion which turns everything upside down so that TNI
\nis cornered in such a way that it is considered proper to be
\ncrushed by AGAM.<\/p>\n
Let me now ask our political elite, intellectuals, ulemas,
\ncommunity figures, artists and cultural activists in this
\nrepublic whether as social groups we can also set up our own
\narmies in our own neighborhoods. As for the weapons, all sorts or
\nweapons, traditional or otherwise, are relatively easy to obtain
\nnow.<\/p>\n
If we are allowed to set up our own army, we will recruit
\nthousands of people to be members of our army. As everybody
\nknows, there are many unemployed people now. Therefore, once we
\ncan establish our own army we can easily order the army to rob,
\nterrorize and intimidate people anywhere. There are many rich
\npeople in this country: Javanese, Bataks, the Minang, Acehnese
\nand so forth. So we can rob them of their assets to finance our
\narmy.<\/p>\n
We have posed this question as a manifestation of our envy of
\nthe Acehnese people, who easily managed to set up their AGAM. If
\nthey can establish AGAM, we can also set up an Army of Mataram,
\nan Armed Forces of Surabaya, an Armed Forces of Betawi and so
\nforth. However, we realize that if we do this, there will be a
\ncivil war in the end.<\/p>\n
The problem is whether or not this idea to set up private
\narmies comes from a sane mind. As long as we sane enough, we will
\nnever set up such armies. Once we lose our sanity, we may decide
\nto set up such armies. You want evidence? Well, when the Acehnese
\nset up their AGAM, our political elite and intellectuals seem to
\ngive them a green light and defend them. On the other hand, the
\nTNI, which is the legal military force in this republic, is
\nalways criticized when trying to subdue this illegal army.<\/p>\n
TONI PONIMAN<\/p>\n
Depok, West Java<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/may-people-establish-an-army-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }