Analysts warn of TNI influence

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Political analysts have expressed concern that the emergence of former military generals as contenders in the upcoming presidential election would put the nascent democracy at risk and may herald the arrival of an autocratic government led by a president with a dubious commitment to human rights.

Analyst Ikrar Nusa Bhakti of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) said that although the generals had already retired from the TNI, they would still command respect from active military personnel owing to their decades of experience in the field.

"We should draw a lesson from what transpired in the relationship between president Soeharto and the military. Although Pak Harto had long retired from active duty he could still wield effective control over the military. This form of military control may recur in the future," Ikrar told The Jakarta Post in a telephone interview.

Ikrar also said another reason to fear the resurgence of military figures in politics was that Susilo and Wiranto were supported by scores of retired generals who staunchly believed in military supremacy over civilians and were restless over the slow progress in democracy.

"The retired generals who are lining up behind the candidates can't accept the fact the consolidation of democracy will take a long and winding road and prefer a strong leader that will lead the masses," Ikrar said, adding that he strongly believed that these "old school" generals had an key role in rallying leaders of Golkar's regional branches to support Wiranto during the recent party convention.

Ikrar also said that of all the available presidential aspirants with a military background, none could claim to promote human rights.

Golkar Party's presidential aspirant Wiranto, who was just nominated by the party in a convention early on Wednesday, is still mired in an unsatisfactorily resolved case of human rights violations for his alleged involvement in crimes against humanity during the bloody breakaway of East Timor province from Indonesia in 1999.

Another candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who was nominated by the upstart Democratic Party, was once quoted as saying that human rights could not be perceived as something absolute.

Munir of the Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) shared Ikrar's view, saying that the return of military figures in politics would impede reform.

"How can we expect the future president to be tough against human rights violators or corruption if the very institution (TNI) he came from is still mired in both problems," he told the Post.

Following the demise of president Soeharto's authoritarian New Order regime which laid its foundation in the coercive power exercised by the military, the public mounted a call for a withdrawal of the TNI from politics.

In response to public outcry, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) scrapped the TNI's role in politics in 2000 with its decision to abolish the military's seats in both the House of Representatives and the Assembly starting in 2004. The military handed over the task of maintaining security to the police at the beginning of 2001 to focus on defense, a process that has not been completed.

Months before the April 5 legislative election, TNI Commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto pledged that the military would stay neutral and expressed hope that the public would encourage the TNI to focus on defense matters and refrain from tempting the military to return to politics.

Separately, an expert on Indonesian politics Jeffrey Winters said that the rise of former military figures in politics reflected the failure of the civilian government in effectively ruling the country.

"People believe that figures like Susilo and Wiranto would be resolute when deciding on crucial issues," he told reporters here.

However, Jeffrey dismissed the notion that the rise of former military figures would pose a serious challenge to the burgeoning democracy. "If they are elected in a democratic manner, so be it," he said.