ABRI told to be more proactive

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Defense and Security Edi Sudradjat yesterday urged the Armed Forces (ABRI) to be more "proactive", especially in facing criticism at home and abroad.

Addressing ABRI's top brass, the retired general said the world is now undergoing major changes that compel the nation to anticipate ways of responding to them.

"I have repeatedly said the officers and future leaders must be anticipative and proactive in this era of massive changes," Edi told the annual leadership meeting at ABRI's headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta.

"The government apparatus, including ABRI, must be proactive if it does not want to be caught off guard by progress and changes," he said.

He said ABRI should not become defensive on matters that have their roots in the nation's culture, such as human rights and democracy. "If we always stay defensive, then the attacks against us are bound to be more aggressive and more gripping."

ABRI Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung in his keynote address earlier warned that human rights and democracy are two major issues which the military will have to deal with in the coming years.

The meeting involves some 170 ABRI top brass from all four services: the Army, Navy, Air Force and the National Police. The meeting is due to wind up on Wednesday and the participants are scheduled to pay a courtesy call on President Soeharto.

Edi, who was briefly ABRI chief last year before he was moved to the defense portfolio, said the military has been the target of criticism from certain elements in the country and abroad who try to depict the situation as if ABRI was obstructing democracy.

He suggested that the officers use the criticism as motivation for introspection on whether ABRI has carried out its task appropriately in line with the demands placed upon it.

"I don't mean just those in Jakarta, but also those in the fields and the regions," he said, stressing the need for the military to act in unison.

"There still seems to be the trauma from the Dili incident, so that some field commanders appear to be too cautious and this has resulted in the fact that the different commanders act differently in response to similar situations," he said. "This in turn encourages the flow of criticism against ABRI, including the accusation that militarism prevails in Indonesia."

Edi also warned ABRI to be prepared with a new paradigm, one to do with openness, initially in the political field but eventually in other sectors.

The military must be able to perform its duty within this new paradigm, he said, stressing that the kind of openness in Indonesia is not one without limits.

Openness

Gen. Feisal in his address said that openness has been interpreted by some people as freedom of expression without being bound by responsibility to society, nation and the state.

"Several cases provide illustration that the demands and aspirations of the people have been used by certain elements to create division and set one party against another with the intention of changing the political system of the New Order."

He said besides democracy and human rights, the nation also faces challenges in ideological development, the socio-cultural sector and the economy, as well as in security and defense.

To respond to the various challenges facing the nation, ABRI must continue to work to strengthen its unity with the people, Feisal said.

"History has shown and taught us that unity between ABRI and the people turns the nation into a solid force in coping with all kinds of threats," he said.

Feisal said that while ABRI has succeeded in its role in the socio-political field, its presence in the political arena has also been criticized, at home and abroad, for different reasons.

"We need not feel concerned with this but we should respond to these criticisms with a cool head and open mind, remaining cautious and always adjusting our political posture within the constitutional bounds," he said.

ABRI must also strive to improve the way it plays its socio- political role because the nation is also reaching political maturity, he said. (rms)