Building trust

Confidence building measures is a phrase from the diplomatic realm that could be used to describe the cautious but steady treadings of the Ministry of Defense under Juwono Sudarsono.

There had been some speculation that Juwono might be the next foreign minister, but however qualified the professor of international relations might have been to continue the nation's foreign policy, he was needed even more to build bridges in order to span the differences between a democratic Indonesia and a military "unlike those in Western democracies".

The latest news from Juwono's office is the completion of the first draft of a revised security and defense bill. One proposed change is that the Indonesian Military (TNI) will be put under the Ministry of Defense, instead of under the direct supervision of the president, as is currently the case.

If the draft is approved by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, it would signal a change in the President's views. During a discussion while campaigning for the presidency, Susilo, a retired general, said placing the TNI under the defense ministry was not a preferable option.

Judging from Minister Juwono's statements, the signs are that he has been patiently conveying to all sides, including the President, his repeated theme of continuing earlier efforts (however invisible to the public) at necessary changes, including the improved transparency and accountability of his own ministry and the institutions in charge of security, namely the National Police and the TNI.

In a defense paper delivered last year in London, Juwono outlined the need for "an accountable and credible defense force" that is able to defend Indonesia's strategic waterways and archipelagic sea lanes. Currently, an official military budget of barely 1 percent of gross domestic product hinders the ability to achieve this goal.

A professional defense force is in everyone's interest, and nowadays professionalism at any institution, civil or military, means accountability and transparency. With this in mind, Juwono and his team of experts from the defense ministry and from independent research institutions are seeking to revise the defense and security legislation.

However, we recall the bill on the military that was suddenly passed late last year after it seemed to vanish into thin air, shortly after several civilian experts resigned from the team drafting the bill over a number of contentious articles concerning the authority of the military chief.

The new law also glossed over the controversial issue of the territorial commands that are at the heart of the non-defense functions of the TNI; functions that were supposed to end after former president Soeharto stepped down in 1998.

During the debate of the TNI bill, we remember the indignant rejection of the term "civilian supremacy" by TNI Commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, who like other officers remembers the military's troubles under meddling politicians in the turbulent 1950s.

One of the "confidence building measures" in this light is the assurance that such meddling will never happen again. To this end, one of the proposed changes to the legislation on defense and security takes away from lawmakers the power to appoint the military chief.

Much more debate is expected over a host of defense and security issues. But what is of the utmost importance here is support from all sides for efforts to make our institutions accountable in their use of public funds.

Such support would include corresponding efforts to end TNI's perceived impunity. If our elite cringe at the thought of having to consider the interests of foreigners (read U.S.) in making our security forces more accountable, they should remember that while Indonesians may not be as loud or influential as U.S. senators, they are the ones who truly want a transparent and accountable military.

Only with corresponding efforts to make the security forces accountable can we take effective steps to build the necessary trust among the public and those institutions that are supposed to protect the people. Without this, Minister Juwono's efforts will, like so many others, end up being for nought.