ABRI wants openness trend to continued next year

JAKARTA (JP): The Armed Forces (ABRI) has urged all parties to maintain the trend towards political openness next year, stressing that it is ready to play its part.

ABRI chief spokesman Brig. Gen Syarwan Hamid told reporters yesterday that he was confident that Indonesia's political climate would improve next year, albeit in phases.

"This depends not only on ABRI but also on the good will of all the other forces in the country," Syarwan told a briefing for journalists to mark the end of the year.

"The future of this nation is in our hands. If we want to destroy it, we certainly can. If we want to see more openness and democracy, we should all work for it," he said.

The year 1994 was marked by the low profile attitude of the military in politics although the dual function concept recognizes it as one of the country's political forces. Much of the initiatives have been taken by the ruling political group Golkar instead.

Syarwan emphasized the need for greater dialog between all political forces in the country to encourage the development of political openness and democracy.

He said ABRI's chief concern is ensuring political stability which is a prerequisite for economic development.

Although he did not predict any major event in 1995, he said the biggest, potential threat to national security would come from conflicts between religions, races or ethnics.

These are issues which could destabilize the nation and also derail the process towards greater political openness, he said.

He warned that failure to manage these conflicts could set the nation back in terms of democracy.

"It could even lead to destruction," he added.

"The quest towards openness must never be made at the expense of destroying the country. That will be a very high price to pay," Syarwan said.

Responding to a question, he said that 1995 could see major changes in the military leadership. "That is a possibility given that ABRI is a dynamic organization." (rms)