Army blast from past: Beware 'foreign parties'

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.