A tough challenge ahead

A tough challenge ahead

To most observers in Jakarta, the replacement on Tuesday of
the chief of the National Police, Gen. Roesmanhadi, by Lt. Gen.
Rusdihardjo, does no doubt seem somewhat unexpected.

True, talk of such a pending replacement has been in the air
in the capital for some time. After all, the chief of the
Indonesian Military (TNI), Gen. Wiranto, was replaced. His place
was taken by Navy Admiral Widodo only weeks after President
Abdurrahman Wahid was installed in October. And last month, Gen.
Tyasno Sudarto was named the new chief of the Indonesian Army,
replacing Gen. Subagyo Hadisiswoyo.

Thus, it would only be logical to expect that high-level
mutations would follow some time soon in the country's National
Police force. This was all the more to be expected since the
National Police is, at least officially, no longer a part of the
Indonesian Military and has become -- again, officially -- an
independent force even though it remains, for the time being,
subordinated to the Ministry of Defense.

What makes Lt. Gen. Rusdihardjo's appointment on Tuesday
unexpected is, essentially, two things: one is the timing of the
change and the second is the fact that the officer promoted to
replace the outgoing police chief was not one of those whom
observers had for some time favored as Roesmanhadi's replacement.
One flaw -- if it can be called that -- in President
Abdurrahman's choice of Rusdihardjo is that his appointment does
not allow for a rejuvenation in the National Police force, its
new chief being a year older than his predecessor.

Obviously, though, the President must have had valid reasons
for making his choice. One crucial fact that must be kept in mind
in all of this, for example, is that after decades of
subordination to the military, the Indonesian National Police is
now finding itself standing at a crossroads, seemingly uncertain
of how to adapt itself to the new situation. In essence, it is
finding itself in the bewildering condition of having to reform
itself from being a part of the country's military tool of
warfare and repression to a civilian institution for maintaining
security and order in a civilian community.

That President Abdurrahman was thinking of this is evidenced
by his remarks during the swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday. Asking
the new chief of police to concentrate on maintaining security
and public order, Abdurrahman said the police force must abandon
its reliance on military-like intelligence operations. "The
police must handle cases on the basis of investigation results --
not on intelligence activities," the President said.

Indonesians who were victims of military "intelligence
activities" in the past cannot fail to detect the ominous
significance of the President's words. Rightly or wrongly, the
Indonesian Military, police included, have in the past often been
accused of purposefully creating situations to warrant the
extralegal suppression of "subversive activities" by suspected
dissident groups, by killings or forced disappearances if
necessary.

Since Soeharto's downfall in 1997, a new era of democratic
reform has dawned, but the challenges that confront the National
Police are far from diminished. Rather, they appear to have
increased in certain sectors of life. The crime rate in major
cities has risen. From a transit point in the international
narcotics trade, Indonesia has quietly turned into a producer.
Communal strife and unrest are threatening to break up the
country.

These are the challenges that await Indonesia's new chief of
police. It is fortunate, under such circumstances, that at least
on the basis of his impressive credentials -- which include
international schooling in conspiracy investigation,
antiterrorism and antidrug tactics -- Lt. Gen. Rusdihardjo seems
thoroughly equipped to meet these challenges. Indonesians will
owe him their greatest gratitude if he can prove to be able to
live up to those expectations.