ABRI repositioning itself: Susilo

ABRI repositioning itself: Susilo

BANDUNG (JP): The Armed Forces (ABRI), in developing a new
paradigm for its position in society, will no longer be a tool of
the government, according to ABRI Chief of Sociopolitical Affairs
Lt. Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Speaking in the West Java capital on Wednesday during an Army
seminar on ABRI's role in the 21st century, Susilo said the
military needed to review its relationship with its supreme
commander -- the president -- and the ruling Golkar political
grouping.

He acknowledged the relationship between ABRI and its supreme
commander had remained clouded because it was not clearly defined
in the 1945 Constitution.

"In the future, the structural relationship between ABRI and
the supreme commander must be regulated clearly. It should also
be clear when a president should function as the head of state,
or the head of government, or ABRI supreme commander."

The general said ABRI had also realized that its close
relationship with the Golkar and the bureaucracy would no longer
be relevant. He said the military, as part of the state, would
maintain the same distance with political parties and the
bureaucracy.

"I think the most appropriate path ABRI should take is already
clear: ABRI will keep an appropriate distance with all political
parties."

Asked to comment on the action of several retired generals who
recently joined the Megawati Soekarnoputri-led Indonesian
Democratic Party (PDI), he said they were entitled to make the
choice.

"ABRI respects the retired generals' decision to joining the
political party, and hopes it will give 'positive values' to the
nation."

Susilo said ABRI would not impose itself in either the House
of Representatives or the People's Consultative Assembly, saying
all matters should be handled in accordance with the law.

"ABRI in principle does not want to be a firefighter (summoned
to the scene after a problem flares) and it complies with the
existing laws."

He justified the military presence in the MPR, saying it
displayed its sense of responsibility for the nation's future as
stipulated in the 1982 national defense law.

Its involvement in the House, he added, was aimed at
controlling the executive and its implementation of the
Guidelines of State Policies (GBHN) devised by the MPR.

Meanwhile, military observer Salim Said called on ABRI to
return to its initial role as purely an armed forces (TNI) entity
which excluded the police force.

Salim said ABRI could use its upcoming Oct. 5 anniversary as
the momentum to declare its return to its initial mission as the
nation's "war force".

Gen. (ret) Awaloedin Djamin, former chief of the National
Police, concurred, saying the separation should be made as soon
as possible.

"We are waiting for ABRI's commitment to announce the
separation; its implementation can follow later on," he said.

Salim and Awaloedin said the position of ABRI as a "war force"
was regulated in the Constitution while that of the National
Police was defined in Law No 28, issued last year.

"Both will have their own anniversary," Said said.

But Susilo claimed it was not necessary to hastily separate
the two forces. He said it was more important that ABRI was
responsive to the idea.

"This seminar is an academic forum in which no decisions can
be made. In-depth studies are still needed," he said. (43/rms)