Army raises profile of human rights training
BANDUNG (JP): The Army is committed to creating soldiers who base their intelligence, integrity and loyalty to the nation on moral standings, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Subagyo Hadisiwoyo said on Monday.
"We have therefore revised the (education and training) curriculum, including upgrading the importance and hours dedicated to the teaching of human rights. Human rights is now a main subject in all types and levels of education within the Army, from officers' training down to privates' training," Subagyo said in a ceremony marking the fusion of six education and training centers into the Bandung-based Army Education and Training Command (Kodiklat).
The six centers are for military police, equipment, communications, logistics and transportation, adjutant generals and finance training.
Subagyo denied that the Army's renewed concern for human rights was due to outside pressures. He also dismissed as far- fetched the allegations that the move was due to the armed forces' past human rights violations.
"Yes, we listen to (outside) aspirations, but there was never any pressure. What we are doing now is improving our educational standards to produce capable soldiers who are mentally and physically tough so they can take up any challenge," he said, adding that one should not judge the armed forces' past conduct by today's criteria.
"We should not allow ourselves to get bogged down with the past, otherwise there will be no limit to what we may dig up. We may want to (dig up) the 1965 Communist coup attempt, the 1948 Communist coup in Madiun, or even try to find the answer to why the Dutch trade vessels landed in this country in the first place," he argued.
Maj. Gen. Kiki Syahnakri, Assistant for Operations to the army chief, said human rights had always been part of the Army's curriculum. However, the Army leadership was convinced that the number of hours dedicated to the subject had been insufficient to prepare its personnel to deal with human rights issues.
"Aside from making it a main subject, we have also increased the number of hours of the subject," Syahnakri told The Jakarta Post.
More importantly, the Army is preparing pocket-sized human rights guidelines for its troops. The guidelines are a follow-up to a seminar on the law of war held in Bangkok last November. At the seminar, the Army pledged to improve training and education on the subject and has started by holding classes for instructors who are expected to disseminate their knowledge and understanding of the matter to their units, said Syahnakri.
Uniformity
According to Subagyo, the fusion of the training centers was also part of efforts to improve the quality and performance of Army personnel.
"By fusing the six centers into the Kodiklat, we aim to improve supervision and attain uniformity in the way we think, perform, plan and educate," Subagyo said.
At the ceremony, the Army chief symbolically presented a fire engine to Kodiklat Commander Maj. Gen. Luhut B. Pandjaitan for use at the command's combat training center in Baturaja.
Also present were Maj. Gen. Sumardi, Commander of the Bandung- based Indonesian Infantry Center (Pussenif), Maj. Gen. M. Noor Aman, the Assistant for Security to the Army chief, West Java's Regional Commander Maj. Gen. Purwadi, and Army spokesman Brig. Gen. I Dewa Putu Rai. (lem)