Armed forces professional by birth, says Prabowo
By Dwi Atmanta
MEDAN, North Sumatra (JP): The Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) was born as a professional organization, chief of the Army Special Forces Maj. Gen. Prabowo Subianto said yesterday.
In a rare speech to academics, Prabowo said the Armed Forces had inherited its professionalism from experience.
"We have a long tradition of warfare which began in the heyday of past kingdoms, and it seems fortunate that ABRI was born from soldiers who had learned a lot from the world's best armed forces," Prabowo said in an off-the-cuff speech.
He was referring to the Dutch and Japanese armed forces which trained local youths to help them win their wars.
Prabowo, one of the Armed Forces' rising stars, was speaking at a seminar held by the Indonesian Association for Social Sciences Development. The seminar will end Saturday.
Most of Indonesia's early military leaders were protegees of colonial armed forces. They include the founder of the Armed Forces the late Gen. Soedirman, Gen. (ret) Abdul Haris Nasution, the late Oerip Soemohardjo who was once an Armed Forces chief of staff and President Soeharto,
Prabowo, Soeharto's son-in-law, said the Armed Forces had passed a test of professionalism when it fought to retain the nation's independence against Dutch and British troops between 1947 and 1949. The Dutch and British were fresh from winning World War II.
This professional tradition had helped the country's military leaders build an army, despite their government not being recognized, Prabowo said.
"ABRI has undoubtedly been a group of professionals since then. This was proved when it quelled the rebellions that hit the nation in its first 20 years of independence," he said.
Non-military
Prabowo said the military developed their professionalism in non-military fields when they filled civilian posts in the mid- 1950s because the government had introduced martial law.
"Professionalism in both defense and sociopolitical affairs, which is its dual role, has made ABRI different from the military in other countries," he said.
Another speaker, Yahya Muhaimin of the Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University's School of Social and Political Sciences, agreed with Prabowo. He said the Armed Forces' dual role fitted a concept of new professionalism commonly shared by military in developing countries.
Yahya, a military analyst, said the Armed Forces' involvement in civil matters should be understood within an historical rather than a legal context.
The 1945 Constitution makes no reference to the Armed Forces' participation in sociopolitical affairs.
Yahya said the Armed Forces' role in civil affairs had declined because of the public was growing weary of it.
ABRI, Yahya said, now had to accommodate globalization which required greater democracy, transparency and the rule of law.
"People are now asking who can hold ABRI personnel in civilian posts accountable. This must be answered to maintain public recognition of its dual role," said Yahya.
Yahya hailed ABRI's recent revision of its sociopolitical role from being a front-runner to a back-seater, but suggested that it heed growing public demand for democratization.
"This may require ABRI to limit its (occupation) of civilian posts to only strategic ones, and reduce its seats in the House of Representatives.
"ABRI could even move toward being a totally neutral institution in general elections," Yahya said.
ABRI has been criticized for leaning toward the dominant political group Golkar. A recent study by the state-run National Institute for Social Sciences recommended that the Armed Forces interfere less in civil matters, and eventually only place its representatives in the People's Consultative Assembly.