Armed Forces needs to reduce its political role: Observers

YOGYAKARTA (JP): The Armed Forces (ABRI) needs to reduce its political role to accelerate the country's fledgling democratic reform, a military observer said.

"ABRIs sociopolitical role must be immediately reviewed to smooth the passage of democratic reform in Indonesia," Yahya Muhaimin of Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta told reporters.

ABRIs dual function allows it to actively engage in social and political affairs, along with its traditional role in security and defense.

Yahya said that a downsizing of ABRIs sociopolitical role was a prerequisite for democratic reform, and said that it was now time for the Armed Forces to grant civilians political freedom.

The head of the University's Center for Security and Peace Studies said that ABRI should loosen its grip on politics in response to popular demands that civilians take over the running of the country.

He said that ABRI must also abandon its security approach, through which they justify using stern measures to maintain national stability, or risk losing popular support.

Nevertheless, Yahya commended ABRI for showing commitment to the process of democratization and allowing the number of seats which it is allocated in the House of Representatives to be reduced from 100 to 75.

Separately in Jakarta, political scientist Ryaas Rasyid said that ABRIs political role should be reduced in response to the snowballing reform movement.

He said that steps to do this could begin in the House of Representatives (DPR) by further reducing the number of seats allocated to ABRI to 50.

Ryaas, who is also rector of the Institute for Public Administration, said the idea had been included in a proposed draft version of the new law on the role and function of the House of Representatives/People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).

Ryaas heads a seven member team which is working on drafts for three political laws covering general elections, political parties and the role and function of the House and the MPR.

However, Indria Samego from the National Institute of Sciences (LIPI) rejected any suggestion that House seats be allocated to the Armed Forces without a popular vote.

"To be a House member, one must be elected through polls," Indria said in a discussion held by the Center for Information and Development Studies.

In early 1995, former president Soeharto commissioned LIPI to carry out research into ways of improving general elections and ABRIs sociopolitical role.

LIPI then produced a report which said that ABRI needed to minimize its role in politics to allow democracy to flourish and political reform to take place. (23/44/imn/byg)