Armed Forces

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