ABRI can do no good

It is only logical that lately the Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) has become the center of political attention, combined with unfair criticism from several groups. ABRI is very active at this moment in trying to maintain law and order, which is now getting out of hand and sometimes needs harsh action.

Even the President is aware of this situation and according to The Jakarta Post asked ABRI on Sept. 24 to act firmly. He said : "Our campaign for reform is being marred by political actions and activities which tend to put forward physical strength, through demonstrations or other activities which obstruct norms, rules and ethics. To the rank and file of ABRI I instruct you to take preventive and proactive steps and actions, combined with a wise but firm attitude, to immediately end the activities of either individuals or groups who are openly working to keep the situation in the country, uncontrollable, unsafe and unstable."

At this moment ABRI is the only coherent force based on good organization, with a clear line of command and strict discipline. This we cannot say of the political parties, even the mighty Functional Group (Golkar).

At this moment we are witness to the fact that the community is trying to dig up, all kinds of events, which can put ABRI in a not too positive situation, particularly in relation to the cases of Tanjung Priok, Aceh, East Timor, Irian Jaya etc.

Even young intellectuals in Jakarta join in the efforts to ridicule ABRI. A few weeks ago we saw a demonstration in front of Hotel Indonesia, carrying a banner (in English) saying "We buy guns for you and then you shoot us". At the latest demonstration, held in front of the House of Representatives building there was a banner saying "We are not shooting targets (according to a report in Suara Pembaruan, Sept. 24).

The community seems to forget the good humanitarian non- military activities ABRI has performed, such as the ABRI Masuk Desa (ABRI helps villages). This is a program where the soldiers come into villages to do such activities as repairing roads, bridges, school buildings, clean rivers to prevent floods, and perform other civil works.

People, or let us say more precisely political parties, look on ABRI as their rival in the Indonesian political game, which of course is the wrong attitude.

In Merdeka on Sept. 28 we can read about the infiltration of generals into political parties only to defend the dual function. This was said by a certain Mr. Munir, an alumni of the faculty of law at the Brawidjaja University. He further said that the steps taken by retired generals to enter political parties will weaken the political consciousness of the party, while actually the role of political parties is to confront the dual function.

The attack is mostly aimed at the existence of the dual function, which according to some extreme groups should be abolished, or according to more moderate groups should be diminished.

I always say that the dual function must not be seen as an expression of power hungry military officers to play a politically dominant role, but as a form of dedication and service to the nation. ABRI has a saying: What is good for the people is also good for ABRI.

If the people think that this dual function is not good, they can say so through their representatives in the House of Representatives.

Let us keep our heads cool and tackle pressing problems like high prices of food stuffs and restoration of people's confidence first and not waste our efforts trying to solve matters which can wait.

SOEGIH ARTO

Jakarta