Army blast from past: Beware 'foreign parties'

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Army chief Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu called on the people on Monday not to promote a civilian-military dichotomy, arguing that such a division was part of a foreign scenario to destroy the country.

"No more civilian-military dichotomy, as it will weaken the military whose strength rests on cooperation with the people. The military and the people are one," Ryamizard said in his speech marking the Army's anniversary on Monday.

The celebration was attended by Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Navy chief Adm. Bernard Kent Sondakh, Air Force chief Marshall Chappy Hakim, military spokesman Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and several former Army chiefs such as Agum Gumelar, Raden Hartono, Try Sutrisno and Edy Sudrajat.

Ryamizard argued that "foreign parties" expected to weaken the performance of the military of several developing countries, including Indonesia. He declined to name the "foreign parties". He said Indonesia's strategic location and its abundant natural resources were the main reasons "foreign parties" would invade Indonesia.

"The military is the backbone of the country's defense. If the military is separated from the people, it will be powerless. That's what they want," Ryamizard said.

He believed that the growing discourses on the civilian- military dichotomy was a "foreign infiltration" tactic of modern war.

"A modern war does not deploy military forces in its initial stages. The military forces enter if the condition (of the targeted country) is chaotic," Ryamizard said, adding that the Indonesian Military would not let such a thing happen.

Therefore, he said, the Army proudly announced the establishment of 10 companies of the Raider special battalion in a bid to increase its performance.

"We have insufficient weaponry, but we have quality troops. We are on a par now (with foreign countries whose military forces are equipped with modern weaponry)," he remarked.

The Raider units were inaugurated on Monday, and comprise 8,000 troops equipped with SS1-VI guns -- a new and modified model of Pindad-made SS1 guns specially designed for the Raiders.

Pindad is the acronym for the national Army Industrial Affairs Center, which also manufactures military-issue weaponry.

Ryamizard explained that the Raider battalion was set up to be a mobile unit of the Army able to carry out antiterrorist campaigns and active combat in wars.

Despite Ryamizard's speech, which highlighted the Army's concerns about a possible foreign invasion, the first assignment for the Raiders was the war in Aceh, where the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has been fighting for independence since 1976. Over 10,000 people have been killed in the decades since then.

The Army's anniversary is called Juang Kartika day, and falls on Dec. 15, and traditionally marks the December 1945 war between the Gen. Soedirman's People's Security Army (TKR) against the Dutch-British coalition troops in Ambarawa, Central Java.

The TKR expelled the coalition troops from Ambarawa during the three-day war from Dec. 12 to Dec. 15, 1945, even though the TKR was poorly equipped against the foreign forces.

The TKR is considered the origin of the Indonesian Army.