Anti-'dwifungsi' groups criticized

Anti-'dwifungsi' groups criticized

JAKARTA (JP): Vice President Try Sutrisno warned the public
yesterday against "looking for trouble" by making an issue of the
military's Dwifungsi doctrine which allows the Armed Forces
(ABRI) to play politics.

Some people who have questioned Dwifungsi -- ABRI's dual
function in both defense and politics -- do not understand its
background and only want to look for trouble, Try said.

Try's message was conveyed to the public through Amien Rais,
chief of the 28 million-strong Muhammadiyah Moslem organization.
Amien met with and asked Try to open a three-day workshop on
education in Jakarta on Aug. 27.

Criticizing Dwifungsi is improper because the doctrine has
become a historical fact, said Try, a former general and one-time
ABRI chief.

"The political role is what makes ABRI different from armed
forces in western countries, where the military is a mere tool of
the state," Try said as quoted by Amien.

Try told Muhammadiyah leaders to always make sure that the
educational orientation is on track, especially at the present
time when the political climate is changing.

He then referred to students grouped in the so-called
Democratic People's Party (PRD), an organization which, he said,
has resorted to communistic means to achieve its political
agenda.

The young generation have to be provided with basic knowledge
about the danger of the Indonesian Communist Party, which was
blamed for the abortive coup in 1965, he said.

PRD, a tiny leftist organization that comprises mostly
students, has been blamed for the July 27 riots in Jakarta that
broke out following the invasion of the Indonesian Democratic
Party headquarters.

Security authorities have launched a nationwide campaign to
crush the PRD and take legal action against its activists. (pan)