ABRI to forge ahead with planned militia

JAKARTA (JP): The Armed Forces (ABRI) is forging ahead with a plan to set up a civilian militia to help the police maintain law and order, ABRI Commander Gen. Wiranto said on Sunday.

An initial 40,000 civilians would be recruited under the Rakyat Terlatih (trained civilian) scheme "to be assigned to security disturbance-prone areas," he said as quoted by Antara news agency.

The militia, to be known by its acronym Ratih, will "have a legal legitimacy, will be authorized to make arrests, handcuff arrestees and report them" to the authorities, Wiranto said at a media conference.

It will also be authorized to take information from suspects, an authority so far held by the police detective unit.

"It will assist in police matters. It will reinforce national security and the upholding of the law," Wiranto said.

However, he sought to reassure the public by saying that Ratih "would not be armed with weapons" but would be equipped with shields and batons.

"There is no ground for worry," he said, referring to concerns aired by many that the militia might only be used for certain political interests.

"It is also not true that Ratih will be used to fight against the people. And it is also not true that its orientation will be to assist certain political forces. Its orientation is to help create safety and a sense of safety amid the population."

Wiranto did not say when establishment of the force would begin, adding "the process will be enforced soon by recruiting, selecting and training."

He said it was hoped the militia would be "effective" in January.

Wiranto added that the formation of the civilian militia was in line with the constitution and a 1982 law on citizens' defense duties.

"There is nothing wrong with involving society in the defense of the country," he said.

"Negative excesses can be neutralized by regulations. People will also be able to give input," he said.

In most countries, the ratio of police personnel to the total population stands at 1-to-300, Wiranto added.

But in Indonesia, there were 200,000 police for a population of more than 200 million, a ratio of 1-to-1,000.

Wiranto said the civilian militia could be trained at a rate of 40,000 new members a year.

He added the establishment of the militia -- who would be paid better than workers receiving minimum wages -- would also alleviate Indonesia's chronic unemployment problem.

Critics

Critics have continued with their rejection of the plan.

Amien Rais, of the National Mandate Party, and Nurmahmudi Ismail, of the Justice Party, have both said no to the plan, warning of possible impacts as dire as armed clashes among civilians.

In Medan, North Sumatra, Amien said on Sunday the planned establishment of a 70,000-strong civilian militia would open the door to a "civilian war". He called on President B.J. Habibie and Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto to drop the plan once and for all, and reallocate the funds to the police to add to its personnel.

The civilian militia might develop to be "special citizens", causing fear among other groups in the community so much so, that they, too, may be driven to arm themselves.

Nurmahmudi predicted in Jakarta the new "force" could be manipulated for a more intense power struggle expected near the elections.

"I can see the possibility of the reemergence of military forces into the country's political arena" through abuse of the civilian militia, he said in Surabaya on Saturday.

He said that establishing a civilian militia amid the economic crisis would only trigger new conflicts in society.

"We've had enough experience that such a concept can create arrogant military-trained civilian groups," he said.

The transitional government, he added, faces many complex problems. "But it is showing a very odd attitude" through such statements of policies like the civilian militia.

"The plan could be abused to extort money from people through hoodlums," he said.

Those who supported the plan included Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung and Hamzah Haz of United Development Party, though both called for caution. Minister of Justice Muladi and chairman of National Commission on Human Rights Marzuki Darusman have also expressed support for the plan.

Akbar, who is also minister/state secretary, also cited the 1982 law and the limited number of ABRI personnel compared to the population.

"We need a civilian militia to anticipate threats to the country," he said, but played down fears of the controversial plan. "It does not mean that the new concept will be implemented at the time of its introduction.

"There should be careful preparation and long-term planning for the concept to be realized," he said.

Akbar also dismissed alarmed reactions that a civilian militia could turn out to be the same feared vigilantes that were armed with sharpened bamboo staves during last month's Special Session of the People's Consultative Assembly.

Hamzah also dismissed speculation that the establishment of the civilian militia was meant to maintain the status quo and military supremacy.

"Many investors have complained of ABRI officials' absence in several parts of Indonesia because its troops were concentrated in certain regions," Hamzah, also the state minister of investment, said, as quoted by Antara in Surabaya on Saturday.

He also said the militia should be deployed only during critical situations such as next year's elections. (imn/nur/21)