Army college produces 'visionary' leaders

JAKARTA (Antara): What does a staff and command school mean to an army officer? A lot, if he vies for stars on his shoulders.

The Bandung-based Army Staff and Command School (SESKOAD) has served the nation well beyond simply turning out generals. The college has produced great leaders of "sharp vision" who have helped guide the country toward progress.

President Soeharto developed his vision of Indonesian nationhood after attending the school in 1960, Lt. Gen. (ret) Achmad Tirtosudiro, a college alumnus, recalled.

Many of Indonesia's present and past leaders in both the administration and the military are graduates of SESKOAD, or SSKAD as the college was known in the 1950s.

It is therefore not surprising that this weekend's reunion for 1951-1961 graduates and a meeting with current active officers has generated media interest and expectation since the plan was first broached last year.

Some political analysts see the reunion -- the first since SESKOAD was founded 46 years ago -- as a rare chance to harmonize the visions of the old and young soldiers, because, they argue, the two camps seem to have drifted apart.

The invitation list includes 426 names. President Soeharto will not attend because of his tight presidential schedule.

Another major absentee is Gen. (ret.) Abdul Harris Nasution, the oldest and most senior living military figure in Indonesia.

Even in their absence, the reunion is still expected to draw a lot of interest. The invitation list includes names like former vice president Gen. (ret) Umar Wirahadikusumah, former Armed Forces Chief Gen. (ret) M. Jusuf, former political and security minister Gen. (ret) Surono and former intelligence chief Gen. (ret) Yoga Sugama. Other names include vocal critics of the government such as Gen. (ret) Soemitro and Lt. Gen. (ret) Kemal Idris.

After last night's opening, the meeting today and tomorrow will bring together retired and active generals, Army chief spokesman Brig. Gen. Robik Mukav said. These sessions will be closed to the press.

Gen. (ret.) Rudini, former army chief of staff and home minister, disagreed that the old and the young SESKOAD alumni have drifted apart.

"There is no generation gap. There are only different ways of seeing things," Rudini said. "The objective of the reunion, I think, is to enable everybody to hold free dialog to reach a common understanding."

Lt. Gen. Achmad Tahir, now chief of the Veterans Legion, agrees with Rudini. "Differences are normal. The important thing is that everybody wishes for the best for the country," he said.

Observers expect the meeting to turn out new concepts to smoothen the country's, and the army's, entry into the next millennium.

They recalled that SESKOAD graduates were instrumental in the First Army Seminar in 1965 and the Second Army Seminar in 1966 where many of the sociopolitical concepts for President Soeharto's New Order administrations were formulated.

Maj. Gen. (ret) Samsudin is hopeful that new ideas will come out from this weekend's meeting.

There are at least three issues which should be thoroughly discussed by the participants, he said.

"They are democratization, social justice and law enforcement," said Samsudin, now a member of the National Commission on Human Rights.

It remains to be seen whether his expectation will be fulfilled, but many observers believe that since the reunion involves reputable names in conceptual thinking, something very important will come out from Bandung.