ABRI, democracy not incompatible' general says

ABRI, democracy not incompatible' general says

By Ridwan M. Sijabat

JAKARTA (JP): The military in Indonesia has played a major
role in laying the foundations for democracy and it intends to
continue to play that role well into the future, Brig. Gen.
Taheri Noor said yesterday.

The Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) faction spokesman in the
House of Representatives stressed that the military, despite its
hierarchical command structure, was not incompatible with
democracy.

In an interview with The Jakarta Post, Brig. Gen. Taheri said
ABRI's role in politics was still misunderstood at times.

"The democracy practiced in the military organization is most
extraordinary," he said. "You will find that ABRI faction members
in the House are more democratic than those from other (civilian)
factions."

Democracy was practiced consistently in the military, he said,
right down to the lowest levels, with all decisions being made
through democratic procedures.

"It is normal to see low-ranking officers, such as corporals
and privates, providing input to their superiors in a decision-
making process, or a commander listening to suggestions from
others before making up his mind," he said.

The difference between the Armed Forces and civilian
organizations, he said, was that once a decision had been made in
ABRI everyone abided by it.

"This is one of the factors that has made the military
organization more established and more unified," he said. "This
is what makes ABRI different from other factions in the House."

ABRI's role in the House has been the subject of debate in
recent weeks for two reasons. The first is the government-
initiated bill to reduce the number of reserved ABRI seats in the
House from 100 to 75. The other is the recent reshuffle, or "mid-
term transfer of duty", within the faction, with the appointment
of 25 new military faces in the House.

The bill is enjoying a smooth passage and is expected to be
passed this Thursday. The actual reduction, however, will only be
effected in 1997 during the general election.

During the New Order period ABRI's legislators have sat side
by side with civilian legislators. Many of them have made a name
for themselves for their boldness. The debate on political
openness in the late 1980s, for example, was initiated by ABRI
members.

Taheri, a former officer of ABRI's Intelligence Board, said
ABRI would maintain its presence in the legislative body in order
to ensure national stability and unity and to safeguard the
Pancasila ideology and the 1945 Constitution.

The military in Indonesia had a unique function, he said; one
that the military in other countries did not have. "It is the
nation's greatness that its military is able to perform two
functions simultaneously."

ABRI's dual role, in defense as well as in politics, had been
widely-accepted in society, he added.

Members of the Armed Forces do not vote and cannot run in
elections. Instead, they are allocated seats in the House of
Representatives, currently 100 of the 500 seats. The other 400
seats are contested by the three political organizations.

Taheri said the reduction in the number of ABRI seats to 75
would not affect the way the faction worked.

He also played down the significance of the recent reshuffle
in the faction which saw a number of prominent generals entering
the House.

Among 25 new ABRI appointments in the House were five men of
the rank of major general -- Ismail, Theo Syafei, Haris Sudarno,
Hari Sabarno and Iskandar Kamil -- and a handful of brigadier
generals, including Afifuddin Thaib, Ambo Eteng Amin and Djoko
Sardjono.

The current ABRI faction chairman, Abu Hartono, has remained,
but change is imminent as he is reportedly being groomed for an
ambassadorial post.

Some political analysts have interpreted the new composition
of the ABRI faction as reflecting a desire to strengthen the
faction's personnel in anticipation of the cut in the number of
seats.

Taheri insisted, however, that the reshuffle was a "routine"
one. "The mid-term reshuffle is a routine event. We usually do it
three times during the five years of the House's life-cycle to
reinvigorate the faction."

He said had ABRI replaced 15 legislators last year and would
be making further replacements in December.

He declined to disclose any strategic and political reasons
behind the reshuffle, saying that the decision was made by ABRI's
leadership.