Amien no enemy of the military, says Subagyo

Amien no enemy of the military, says Subagyo

JAKARTA (JP): The Armed Forces (ABRI) has brushed aside
speculation that it has developed a stronger rapport with
government critics, as shown by its leaders' recent favorable
remarks about Amien Rais.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Subagyo Hadisiswoyo said Saturday
that the military always maintained good relations with Amien,
the chairman of the 28-million-strong Muhammadiyah Moslem
organization.

"ABRI had never considered Amien Rais as an enemy," said
Subagyo after the transfer of duty of the Army's special force
(Kopassus) commandant-general from Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto to
Maj. Gen. Muchdi Purwopranjono.

"No. We've never made any government critics, including Amien
Rais, our enemies," he said. "ABRI will always take the side of
the people in its every decision regarding state affairs and
policies.

"ABRI will always act as the stabilizer and lend dynamism to
the country's political affairs."

Subagyo was asked by the media about the seemingly improving
ties between Armed Forces leaders and Amien, who is known to be
critical of many government policies.

Only last week, for instance, Subagyo praised Amien for his
"wise and mature" criticism. This pat on Amien's back was
followed almost immediately by a meeting between him and Armed
Forces Chief of Sociopolitical Affairs Lt. Gen. Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono, who reportedly told Amien to continue being critical.

Even earlier, the new Army Strategic Reserves Commander, Lt.
Gen. Prabowo Subianto, reportedly made similarly positive remarks
about Amien.

Amien, who is also a staff lecturer at the Gadjah Mada
University's School of Social and Political Sciences in
Yogyakarta, recently called the new cabinet "unprofessional" as
it included ministers with blemished records and the daughter of
President Soeharto, Minister of Social Services Siti Hardijanti
Rukmana.

Amien has also, prodded by protesting students, expressed his
readiness to lead a people's power movement should the new
cabinet fail to settle the monetary crisis in six months.

Subagyo, however, said Saturday he was confident Amien would
not do anything that was against the 1945 Constitution.

"I know Amien Rais personally," he said.

He called on various government agencies to follow in ABRI's
footsteps and initiate dialog with government critics and
students.

Armed Forces Commander/Minister of Defense Gen. Wiranto is
scheduled to hold a dialog with students from 17 universities on
Saturday, in an attempt to defuse tension and absorb their
concerns about the crisis.

Subagyo said the planned dialog was not novel, pointing out
that ABRI leaders at both the national and local levels had
developed the tradition over many years.

He expressed support for the students' peaceful, on-campus
protests, but reminded them of their duty to study.

"They are the country's future leaders. Therefore, they have
to prepare the skills and acquire the knowledge to be the leaders
of the future," he said.

Yudhoyono was quoted by Antara as saying yesterday that the
Armed Forces would always encourage intellectuals to be critical,
in the sense that they viewed problems critically and responsibly
and came up with solutions.

"The strength of intellectuals (lies) in that they make
analyses of problems with the methodology and theories that they
have mastered, then seek solutions. This is a strength that has
to be encouraged," he said yesterday.

"Once intellectuals enter practical politics, however, this
strength would fade, because they wouldn't be able to see things
clearly and come up with appropriate solutions," he said.

He cited the campaign to give the new cabinet six months to
prove its mettle, as an example of a misplaced critical attitude.

"That's not appropriate. What's correct is, let's all support
the government in coping with the crisis in the coming months."

"Indonesia should not be a 'nation in waiting'. It should be
instead a 'nation in doing', a 'nation in participating'," he
said. "Now, this would be an educational stance, everybody shares
the responsibility, everyone cares and participates." (imn/swe)