Skepticism remains over TNI internal reform<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The year 2000 saw unlikely changes in the
\nIndonesian Military (TNI) -- and the Army in particular, as
\ndemonstrated in the four major reshuffles and the dismissal of
\ngenerals who were still active and dubbed strong contenders for
\nthe top post in the armed forces.<\/p>\n
Combined with persistent antimilitary sentiment and political
\npressures which mounted during the annual session of the People's
\nConsultative Assembly (MPR) in August, the move to reform the
\nmilitary should have borne fruit.<\/p>\n
MPR issued two landmark decrees which separates the Police
\nfrom TNI and subsequently sets a clear division of labor between
\nthem. The Police are now in the vanguard of security, reducing
\nTNI to a back-up role.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, nothing has proven effective to push for a sound
\ninternal reform in the TNI, which, despite its battered image,
\nstands as the most solid political power amid unabated bickering
\namong civilian counterparts.<\/p>\n
Many believe the prolonged bloodshed in Maluku and North
\nMaluku and violence in rebellious provinces of Aceh and Irian
\nJaya has justified the military's insistence on keeping its
\nterritorial function intact.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, human rights abuses in the four provinces
\nhave been blamed in part on the military's reluctance to enforce
\nthe law and failure to maintain the country's peace and order.<\/p>\n
Several major reshuffles in the military, especially the
\ntransfer of power in the Army from Gen. Subagyo Hadisiswoyo to
\nGen. Tyasno Sudarto and to the current chief of staff Gen.
\nEndriartono Sutarto has made the public more skeptical and
\npessimistic about a thorough reform in the military.<\/p>\n
Both Subagyo, a former adjutant of former president Soeharto,
\nand Endriartono, former chief of the presidential guard force
\n(Paspampres), have been close to the former ruler. Tyasno failed
\nto continue the reform because of the allegation of his
\ninvolvement in numerous crimes, including a fake money case.<\/p>\n
The Army under Subagyo, Tyasno and Endriartono several times
\npledged to review its territorial function and its business
\nactivities to repair its badly tarnished image but, so far, no
\nconcrete actions have materialized.<\/p>\n
Rumors that President Abdurrahman \"Gus Dur\" Wahid in his
\ncapacity as TNI's supreme commander is unable to control the
\nmilitary, were confirmed when he failed to promote pro-reform Lt.
\nGen. Agus Wirahadikusumah, as Army chief to replace Tyasno in
\nOctober. Many generals went against Agus, citing his move to
\nreveal irregularities in the foundation belonging to the Army
\nStrategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) that implicated a number of
\ngenerals during his brief tenure at the command. Agus was
\neventually given no job in the massive reshuffle in July.<\/p>\n
Addressing the celebration of TNI's 55th anniversary, the
\nPresident called on soldiers to remain loyal to the state,
\ninstead of serving their leaders but it gained no enthusiastic
\nresponse from the military leadership.<\/p>\n
Although for over one year, TNI has been led by a non-Army
\nofficer, Admiral Widodo Adi Sutjipto, no significant changes have
\nbeen made by the armed forces. Despite the discharge of Gen.
\nFahrul Razi as TNI deputy commander, the leadership of Widodo
\nremains ineffective because most of the strategic posts in the
\nTNI Headquarters remain in the hands of Army generals.<\/p>\n
J. Kristiadi, a political observer from the Centre for
\nStrategic and International Studies (CSIS), recounted that
\ndespite its exit from the bureaucracy, the military was still
\npowerful, thanks to the presence of its territorial line of
\ncommand stretching from the regional military commands in
\nprovincial capitals to military districts and subdistricts.<\/p>\n
He was sure the military will never go back to the barracks
\nand that democracy could not be upheld unless the territorial
\nfunction is phased out.<\/p>\n
Harold Crouch, an Australian observer of Indonesia, has
\nobserved that despite its withdrawal from politics, the Army
\ncould still pose a potential obstacle to reform due to its
\nterritorial organization which remains intact. He said the Army
\nhas abused ethnic, religious and intergroup (SARA) conflicts to
\njustify its sociopolitical role as necessary to maintain social
\norder and national unity.<\/p>\n
It has been an open secret that Army officers and soldiers
\nhave long since abused the territorial command \"to extort the
\npeople and commit crimes.\"<\/p>\n
\"The territorial function has been abused by generals to
\nextort businessmen and government officials and by low-ranking
\nsoldiers to commit crimes such as robberies and banned drug
\ntrafficking,\" Revrisond Baswir, a political observer from the
\nYogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University, said recently.<\/p>\n
He suggested the territorial function be phased out and the
\nmilitary's business be cut to let TNI be professional in carrying
\nout its defense function.<\/p>\n
Juwono Sudarsono, former defense minister, acknowledged it
\nneeds a long time to cleanse corrupt practices in the military
\nand to develop harmonious civil-military relationships. He said a
\nsignificant increase in the defense budget was not an urgent
\nsolution to combat the corrupt culture.<\/p>\n
According to him, the Army's diverging territorial function
\ncould be neutralized if political parties have a strong network
\nspanning from Jakarta to the provinces, districts, subdistricts
\nand villages.<\/p>\n
Salim Said, a military observer, called on the House to review
\nthe law on defense to phase out the territorial function.<\/p>\n
\"All problems around the presence of regional military
\ncommands, military districts and subdistricts could be solved
\npeacefully if the territorial function as stipulated by the law
\nis reviewed, or even phased out,\" he told The Jakarta Post
\nrecently.<\/p>\n
He was of the same opinion that the military (read Army)
\nshould change \"its culture\" and the people would believe in the
\npresence of internal reform in the military organization only if
\nit shows concrete actions in the field.<\/p>\n
According to him, the people would give their sympathy if the
\nmilitary was committed to surrender officers and retired generals
\nwho were allegedly involved in human rights abuses in Aceh,
\nPapua, East Timor, and in the Tanjung Priok case and July 26
\ntragedy. (rms)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/skepticism-remains-over-tni-internal-reform-1447893297",
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