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.