ABRI told to be more proactive

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)