Sorong Military wins Army's territorial function contest<\/p>\n
Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Amid anti-military sentiment in Irian Jaya, the Sorong
\nMilitary Subdistrict won the Army's territorial function contest
\ndue in large part to its successful programs to counter
\nunderdevelopment, poverty and illiteracy.<\/p>\n
Lt. Col. Bachtiar, chief of the Sorong Military Subdistrict,
\nproclaimed the award to be an honor not only for the military
\ncommand but for also for the Papuan people participating in the
\nsuccess of the program.<\/p>\n
\"With this trophy, we win not only the contest but, and
\nmainly, the hearts of Papuan people who have enjoyed all programs
\ncarried out under the territorial mission. Servicemen must go
\nwhere they are assigned, but the locals live there and will
\nremember their meritorious service,\" he said after receiving the
\ntrophy from Indonesian Military Commander Admiral Widodo A.S.
\nhere on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The competition among the more than 400 military subdistricts
\nacross the country was keen and Sorong was deserving, he added.<\/p>\n
Bachtiar who has led the military district since Jan. 2001,
\nexplained that the military district in cooperation with the
\nlocal administration has launched several civic work programs to
\nbreak the isolation of hundreds of remote areas in the regency.<\/p>\n
\"Hundreds of isolated villages on the mainland and islets have
\nbeen connected by infrastructure improvements such as minibuses,
\nspeedboats and ferries so that villagers can sell their goods in
\nsmall towns inside and outside the regency,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Many people in remote areas have begun to enjoy electricity
\nand TV programs and now have access to information at home and
\noverseas.<\/p>\n
\"You should not be surprised to see that many villagers now
\nhave TV sets with satellite antennae,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He noted that over the last nine months, the military
\nsubdistrict has built a number of churches and mosques in remote
\nareas as well as roads connecting all villages in the mainland.<\/p>\n
The military subdistrict has also assisted the local
\nadministration to campaign for national family planning and
\nimproved literacy among villagers in remote areas.<\/p>\n
\"It's not a strange thing that servicemen assigned to carry
\nout civic work programs in isolated areas teach women about
\nbreastfeeding, health and farming. And so far, around 80 percent
\nof school-age children in the regency have gone to school. Many
\nservicemen have been also deployed to teach in elementary schools
\nwhich lack teachers,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Asked to comment on anti-military sentiment in the province,
\nBachtiar who graduated from the Army Academy in 1984, said it was
\nmerely unfair to blame the military institution for crimes and
\nhuman rights abuses committed by servicemen.<\/p>\n
\"The military leadership has never ordered killing, theft or
\nrape, but servicemen who are involved in such crimes and human
\nrights abuses must be punished according to the military law,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The military has been much criticized for human rights abuses
\nduring the ongoing military operation to crush the Free Papua
\nSeparatist Movement (OPM) in the past and so far, none have been
\nlegally called to account for abuses.<\/p>\n
He said he fully supported the military's internal reform to
\ngo back to its original defense function and leave politics, \"but
\nit's impossible at present to phase out the Army's territorial
\nfunction and dissolve military networks in regions.<\/p>\n
\"If the military commands and subdistricts are dissolved
\nIndonesia will divide into small countries,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sorong-military-wins-armys-territorial-function-contest-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}