Armed Forces should stay neutral: Kemal

Armed Forces should stay neutral: Kemal

JAKARTA (JP): A former senior military officer has joined the
growing list of people demanding a neutral Armed Forces.

Lt. Gen. (ret) Kemal Idris, a former chief of the Army's
Strategic Reserve Command who has become a vocal critic of the
government, said yesterday after a ceremony to commemorate the
command's 38th anniversary that the Armed Forces (ABRI) should
return to being a group which does not lend support to any
political group.

"The Armed Forces belongs to the people. It must stand above
all groups and support all political groups which share its
views," Kemal said.

ABRI officers have often dismissed arguments such as Kemal's
on the grounds that ABRI is historically affiliated to the
dominant political grouping Golkar.

Golkar, which has won each of the last five general elections,
relies heavily on ABRI and the civil servants corps as its main
supporters.

ABRI Commander Gen. Feisal Tanjung said before the United
Development Party's leadership meeting last week that the
military would remain neutral but its wider family would vote for
Golkar.

In Indonesia active military members do not vote but are
guaranteed a number of seats in the House of Representatives and
the People's Consultative Assembly. After this year's general
election, scheduled for May 29, their House seats allocation will
decrease from 100 to 75.

Recent research conducted by the government-run National
Institute of Sciences recommended that ABRI should reduce its
political role from a controlling one to eventually being only a
backseat player in order to allow democracy to flourish.

The study said that ideally the military should be represented
only in the consultative assembly, which comprises the 500 House
members and 500 representatives from the regions and various
groups.

Kemal defended the military's representation in the House, on
the grounds that the ABRI members have the same rights to be
involved in the decision-making process as civilians.

However he suggested a drastic reduction in the
representation. "It could be 40, 30, or 20," Kemal said, but did
not go into details.

A dual function doctrine allows the military to play a role in
politics, and therefore its members can hold civilian posts both
in the executive and legislative branches.

Army Chief Gen. R. Hartono, who also attended yesterday's
ceremony, said there would be no changes in the Armed Forces'
dual function.

"The dual function will stay forever. There is no way to
reduce the Armed Forces' political role. If necessary, instead,
we will be more active than we are now," he said.

Kemal also said the Armed Forces needed to apply more lenient
approaches when it came to settling societal problems. "This
approach is important to understand the people's aspirations," he
said. (amd)