A message worth heeding

Retired Army General A.H. Nasution, who belongs to the Indonesian Armed Forces's (ABRI) founding generation, has conveyed a special message to ABRI's present generation. He asked that the bond between ABRI and the people be preserved. It was under the protection of the people, he said, that ABRI had been able to grow strong. Without the people's support, ABRI would mean nothing.

That important message is based on actual experience, gained for the largest part during the war for independence. During that period of fighting side by side with the common people, our soldiers felt as if they were the people's children. That support -- which consisted of not only moral and logistical support, but physical protection as well -- was given freely and spontaneously, and it laid the basis for our present concept of people's warfare.

ABRI's younger generation obviously never personally experienced our war for independence. For this reason, Gen. Nasution's message is of great importance. The younger generation of ABRI should not abandon the people.

-- Republika, Jakarta