ABRI at a crossroads
One of the institutions worst hit by the current crisis of confidence is the Armed Forces (ABRI). This institution, which under the New Order regime exercised the real power in this country, is now hobbled. Like a hero in a Chinese kung fu tale, crippled by a blow to his main artery, its eyes are angrily watching but its energy is sapped.
ABRI, which was in the past uncompromising in its insistence that the country's stability, unity and cohesion be preserved at any cost, is now itself drenched in uncertainty, not to say confusion. ABRI appears to be carrying a weight so heavy it is staggering under the burden. One after another, ABRI's sins are being revealed and this places it in a defensive position.
As people regain confidence in their own critical skills and uncover so many past sins, ABRI finds itself unable to escape the denunciations that are being cast in its direction. ABRI's biggest mistake, as admitted by its chief of staff of sociopolitical affairs, Lt. Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, was to aspire to assume responsibility over an unlimited scope of affairs.
As we see it, though, this was not so much a mistake as a logical consequence of its own dual function doctrine. By calculatedly assuming a sociopolitical function, ABRI could not avoid getting itself involved in political sins. The existence of mass graves in Aceh and the abduction of political activists, for example, are in actuality the consequences not of (ABRI's) security role, but its sociopolitical one. The same is true of the Tanjung Priok affair, a long-buried grievance now revived in increasingly frequent protest demonstrations.
Democratization has become the spirit of the times and can no longer be resisted. Willingly or otherwise, each and every institution in existence is compelled to redefine its role in society. This includes ABRI. Whatever internal reforms ABRI will be introducing, its sociopolitical role should be drastically reduced. The burden of sins which ABRI has to carry at present is a consequence of its own commitment to a sociopolitical role. It has no one else to blame.
-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta