ABRI means to uphold control in politics: Crouch

ABRI means to uphold control in politics: Crouch

JAKARTA (JP): Most Armed Forces (ABRI) officers mean to
maintain the military's dominant direct role in the government
despite increasing open criticism, according to a respected
Indonesia watcher.

Harold Crouch of the Australian National University said
yesterday the Armed Forces would continue clinging to its "dual
function" or Dwifungsi doctrine in both defense and politics by
reserving key positions in the government to retired military
officers.

"I think most ABRI officials want to implement the dual role
doctrine by playing a direct role in the government," he told a
seminar sponsored by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI).

The military's role in politics and defense, once a too
sensitive issue to discuss in public, came under intense scrutiny
in the seminar sponsored by the state agency.

The debate also featured Indonesia military observer Hasnan
Habib, a retired army general and former Indonesian ambassador to
the United States, and a member of National Commission of Human
Rights, Brig. Gen. Roekmini Koesoemoastoeti.

In the first day of the two-day seminar reassessing the New
Order's political format, Crouch said the dual function remained
a focus of debate among both civilians and ABRI officers almost
50 years after the concept was brought into being by Indonesian
military founders.

In the military, he said, most officers believe in what he
called "structural dual function", which means that the Armed
Forces should maintain its dominant direct role in politics.

But there are more moderate officers who believe that the
military should gradually lessen their role in government, making
way for the civilians to the forefront.

They believe that the Armed Forces should act only if the
situation requires them to do so.

"Thus if Indonesia has been politically stable, economically
developing and facing no external threats, ABRI should reduce its
role and give bigger opportunities to the civilian to the
bureaucracy," he said.

There is a growing awareness among the military circle that
they should reduce their role in politics because more and more
civilians are able to fill positions in the bureaucracy, he said.

Civilians, he said, are split into those who totally reject
the dual role concept and others who want to see the military's
part in politics be limited.

He said some civilians see the dual function concept aims to
legitimize the military domination in the Indonesian politics.

But the moderate group, believing that the "civil-ization"
process in the administration continues, does not want to risk
confrontation with the military, turning to more persuasive
approach.

Progressive

Roekmini, a former legislator from the Armed Forces faction
well-known for her unusual outspokenness, acknowledged that the
dual function concept was under increasing scrutiny as people's
political awareness was improving.

She argued that what ABRI should do to safeguard its image was
to "dynamize" the concept and make sure that its implementation
does not deviate from the original noble course as intended by
its founding fathers.

Within the Armed Forces, she said, the conservative group
meant to maintain the concept as it is now disregarding of the
people's criticism. She describes those belong to this group as
"suspicious and defensive" and would not understand what the
public demand of them.

"But the progressive, including myself, believe that the
concept should be kept up-to-date in line with the actual
condition," she said.

Hasnan said that at the formal level, there was no clear
indication if the Armed Forces wanted to review or maintain the
dual-function doctrine.

He said Armed Forces Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung's recent
remarks that the doctrine needed reviewing sparked debates among
military observers on what he actually meant.

"But I think he (Feisal) referred to the implementation rather
than the concept," he said. (pan)