ABRI 'must trim political role', says Yudhoyono

JAKARTA (JP): Retired and serving senior ranking officers in the Armed Forces (ABRI) have acknowledged that the military must reduce its dominant role in politics in order to help promote democracy and the creation of a civil society.

Armed Forces Chief of Socio-Political Affairs Lt. Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that ABRI should play a constructive role in efforts to create a climate conducive to the development of democracy.

He said the Armed Forces should pay heed to observers who have argued that the military's overbearing role in politics was one of the main reasons for Indonesia's slow progress toward a civil society and democracy.

"That means ABRI must reduce its role in politics to a minimum and step back to give civil society more leeway," he said in a paper distributed to participants at a seminar on civil society at Trisakti University here yesterday.

Susilo could not deliver the speech to the seminar in person because he is a member of the Officers Honor Council (DKP) which convened yesterday to look into the case of the alleged involvement of military officers in the recent abduction of political activists.

Susilo maintained that the Armed Forces would accept a reduction in its political role in accordance with the empowerment of civil society.

"ABRI will be part of the process of empowering civil society," he said.

He claimed that adjustments to the Armed Forces role in society would become apparent through the development of a new paradigm of indirect involvement and "constructive sharing" in the nation's political landscape.

"These new concepts will result in ABRI playing a proportional role in politics in line with existing demand," he said.

Hasnan Habib, a former military chief of socio-political affairs, said during the seminar that the Armed Forces should use its strategic political role to ensure that the government facilitated the growth of a civil society.

"ABRI as a strong socio-political organization could play an important role by pressing the government and encouraging the people to uphold democracy and a civil society," he said.

However the Armed Forces should first try to restore its reputation which has recently been shattered by revelations of military involvement in serious human rights abuses.

Hasnan pointed out that the Armed Forces must ensure that its role is widely understood by the public and that it adheres and respects the authority and supremacy of civilian rule.

Even control of the dual role of the Armed Forces, which legitimizes its involvement in both security and politics, must rest with the people, he argued.

"If ABRI wants to improve itself then it should accept all decisions made the House of Representatives and the People's Consultative Assembly which are the embodiments of the people's sovereignty. It should give up the dual function and let the people decide on its future," he said.

Hasnan, also a former ambassador to the United States, was pessimistic about the prospects for civil society in the country, and said that many problems had still to be overcome.

He said the nation was facing a systemic crisis that has caused all aspects of life in the country to deteriorate.

"Indonesia is not only facing a political, economic and legal crisis but also a moral, and ethical crisis that will require a long time to overcome," he said. (rms)