A TNI of a different color

A TNI of a different color

From Pelita

It is said that in the past the Indonesian Communist Party
(PKI), through its military branch, was able to infiltrate the
Indonesian Military (TNI). This communist infiltration gave the
TNI's path a red color. Similarly, when Golkar dominated the New
Order government, TNI was strongly influenced by the yellow
color. These changes of color throughout TNI's history indicate,
in a way, that TNI belongs to the people. In other words, TNI's
color was a reflection of the people's condition.

However, when seen from another angle, the colors depicted a
force with an ideological nuance or significance, and were thus
primitive in nature. When the people are engaged in conflicts as
we are witnessing now, the TNI's color loses popularity, which
gives rise to polemics.

During the New Order era, the dominant Golkar's supporters
were happy to see high-ranking military officers wearing yellow
jackets. On the other hand, those who did not support Golkar were
neither happy nor did they feel that they were the owners of TNI.
Even worse, they felt the TNI was their enemy.

The question now is what color should TNI adopt? Can it choose
its own color and adopt its own political identity? If so, TNI
could then be regarded as a neutral force. But when conflicts
between the ruling government and the opposition arise, which
side does the TNI defend? The situation will become increasingly
difficult if TNI's policies differ from those of the conflicting
parties. So the involvement of TNI with conflicting parties must
be avoided. Only then can we say that TNI belongs to all the
people. There is no yellow TNI, no green TNI and no red TNI.

One argument is that TNI's policy is the state's or
government's policy. Does this mean that TNI's policy is the
policy of the ruling party? If so, is this not a paradox? The
answer is "no". Because the rationale is that every nation must
have a government. And the government comes into being through a
process called a general election. Like it or not, a general
election produces a winner and a loser.

All people are ready to see the TNI follow the policies of the
winning political party. However, the people do not want to see
the TNI play a part in the general election and help one party
win or lose the elections, because this would be seen as the TNI
taking sides. That the TNI should follow the policy of the ruling
party is sensible enough because every government must be backed
by a strong military. In this context, TNI members who sit in the
People's Consultative Assembly should give their votes to all
parties proportionally. Or is it otherwise?

ANDI SURYA

Jakarta