ABRI source of fascination

ABRI source of fascination

The Armed Forces of Indonesia
By Robert Lowry
ALLEN & UNWIN, NSW, February 1997
Paperback, 282 pages

MELBOURNE (JP): It would not be an exaggeration to say
Indonesia's Armed Forces has been a source of fascination,
speculation and awe for people in the region, be they inside or
outside Indonesia. Excellent books have been written and
published in English by academics and journalists like Harold
Crouch, Ulf Sundhaussen and David Jenkins, about Indonesia's
Armed Forces and its role in the nation's political movements.
The publication of Robert Lowry's book, The Armed Forces of
Indonesia, the first in The Armed Forces of Asia series, is a
timely addition to the collection. And it is particularly useful
for those seeking an overall picture of the country's military
power, known nationally as ABRI, in one reading.

The book will demystify ABRI for outsiders, and demythify ABRI
in the eyes of many Indonesians, who have only experienced its
presence, influence, some its might, and have never stepped aside
to see it in its entirety. It is also a concise history of ABRI
as part of, and outside of, the New Order. It is impossible to
understand the workings of Indonesia's New Order and predict
changes ahead without understanding ABRI. And predictions abound
with the May election imminent.

While Lowry touches on the formation of the Army during the
struggle for independence, and the subsequent establishment of
the Air force and the Navy, he concentrates more on ABRI's
development and transformation in the period after 1965. He
explores in detail what he sees as the three functions of ABRI:
defense, internal security and regime maintenance, against the
background of the wider context of domestic politics and national
defense and security policy.

Lowry paints a picture both from inside and outside, and
depicts a very interesting struggle between the rhetoric of
ideals and the problems of implementing them.

Based on traditional Javanese world view, ABRI's doctrinal
manuals depicts itself in a holistic manner, where every element
is part of a component which in turns, is a part of a hierarchy
of subsystems forming the whole system. Unity, of the forces
themselves, and of the nation as a community, is paramount. Since
its inception in 1945 ABRI has defeated or contained all armed
challenges to the state and armed separatist movements seen as
threats to national unity and cohesiveness. It therefore
justifies its involvement in the domestic politics, and the
Army's dominance over the other forces.

It is in the name of maintaining this cohesiveness, it seems,
that ABRI's influence has been built into the legislative and
executive powers. Its interests are represented in the
legislature through Golkar and through the service personnel who
are appointed to 20 percent of the seats at national, province
and district levels of legislature. And Lowry observes that
ABRI's internal security and political roles have become
entwined, being as much concerned with entrenching its own
political dominance as with containing insurgency and separatism.

A lot of the political activism has been classified as an
internal security problem and dealt with by the use of violence
or threat of violence rather than political means.

During the War of Independence military commanders were placed
over the civil authorities, as the nation was in an all-out
struggle against a foreign enemy. This practice however, has been
continued in overcoming internal security problems. Instead of
coopting insurgents and dissenters back into civil society, the
military tend to regard them as the enemies of the state, hence
justifying the use of force against them.

In the chapter about ABRI in business, Lowry throws the
limelight right back to the time of the revolution, where many
Army and militia units had to fend for themselves, then traces
this to the present era, where the nation is faced with problems
arising from ABRI's business associations.

The book credits ABRI with having achieved its task:
overseeing the defense and security of Indonesia over the last 50
years. Considering the country's size, location, economic
underdevelopment, geographic fragmentation, and ethnic and
religious diversity, it was no mean feat.

In the conclusion, Lowry suggests that since ABRI does not
credit civilians with much administrative abilities, it will be
reluctant to step back from its political role if reform only
means greater political power for the bureaucracy. Interestingly,
to win ABRI's support, the social change away from military
authoritarian rule, will have to give greater political power to
society at large.

The book is more like a picture in its lack of ponderousness,
yet it is very informative. It should appeal to those who do not
necessarily want an in-depth study of Indonesian politics, but
seek a much better understanding of what makes Indonesia tick.

-- Dewi Anggraeni