Building trust

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.