Armed Forces

The May riots have had widespread financial, social and political repercussions in this country. Back then, the Armed Forces (ABRI) seemed unable to contain or control the situation when trouble erupted on the streets of Jakarta. A large number of looters, rioters and arsonists, not to mention rapists, once again conveniently escaped the law and got away with their criminal actions. To the man on the street, it appears inconceivable that any such event could have taken place without ABRI detecting it in its early stages. What were the officers in charge of the various city district commands doing at the time? Is it possible that with so many district commands spread out over the city, all of the commanding officers failed to report the outbreaks of unrest to the military headquarters and at the same time take steps to contain the situation? Are there not any standard procedures for dealing with outbreaks of unrest?

It is noticeable that ABRI was ready and well prepared for student demonstrations before, during and after the Special Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR). They were intent on preventing students from reaching the Assembly building while the session was in progress and proved themselves to be up to this task, although at a high cost in terms of the number of human lives lost.

In the early afternoon of Nov. 14, looting once again broke out in the city. Looting is against the law, no matter how you look at it. The looters were without doubt more unlawful and destructive than the students, yet look at the treatment meted out by the military to these two respective groups. How can the Armed Forces' response to the looting be reconciled with its treatment of student demonstrators? What happened to ABRI's basic role to protect the citizens of this country? There were eyewitness reports of soldiers turning a blind eye to looters bludgeoning helpless shopkeepers in the Sawah Besar and Pecenongan areas only seconds after television cameras stopped filming them guiding the unfortunate individuals out of their burning shops. Why the charade?

Continued repressive handling of the reform movement by ABRI will only serve to mar the process of democratization in Indonesia. I hope that ABRI will come to understand that its role in the political arena here must become more accommodative and that it should create an environment more conducive to allowing all layers of society, including students, to voice and channel their aspirations. Please do not hide just behind the Constitution. The Armed Forces must realize that the changes taking place now are irreversible and that they need to be part of the driving force so that a suitable political system can be formed to guide the country out of this multi-dimensional crisis.

ALIMIN

Jakarta