Army raises profile of human rights training

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)