Dodging the draft

Dodging the draft

Born of a long, bloody revolution which taxed immeasurable
sacrifice, it is no wonder that the words "war" and "struggle"
are etched into the fables of Indonesian nationalism.

The sacrifices that our forefathers endured to create this
nation should forever be remembered. It is the constitutional and
inherent duty of citizens to defend this hard earned sovereignty.
There is no question of that.

Unfortunately, since independence a kind of militaristic vogue
has colored civilian life, despite a near-complete absence of
external adversaries.

It's time to cease such ways of thinking. The wars some may
think we're still fighting were all over a long time ago. The
revolution is over!

The glory of tomorrow does not lay in the arrogance of might
or coercive power. Our struggle now is to liberate the nation
from hunger, ignorance and suppression.

Indonesia should still be proud to have an effective armed
force without military might itself having to become the
centerpiece of the nation's pride.

That is why we view with anxiety the introduction of a bill
that could, in a few years time, draft citizens aged between 18
and 45 into the military reserves.

We question the need for mandatory military service given the
absence of any perceivable external threat. It is almost
impossible to imagine that our neighbors in Southeast Asia, Papua
New Guinea, Timor Leste or Australia, would seek to attack
Indonesia in the foreseeable future. Regional diplomatic
arrangements in place ensure that the advent of open conflict
between nations in the region is highly unlikely.

Mandatory military service in a time of no apparent threat
would only result in undedicated servicemen who would eat away at
the military's core professionalism by continuously questioning
their commanders.

If the Indonesian Military (TNI) strongly believes that it
needs to beef-up its manpower, we suggest a Reserves Corps
comprised of volunteers -- part-time soldiers -- who can be
called-up for active duty for training or deployment.

For a military that is always complaining of budget
constraints, the cost of a limited reserves force would be lower
than that of a perpetually rotating draft. This also allows
resources to be allocated into buying new equipment and improving
training.

Mandatory service means new recruits would have to be trained
every year to replace those who leave. Furthermore the draft
system fails to provide the critical skills that only come with
years of training and experience.

The end result would be a less well-trained yet costly army.

Some may argue that military training is beneficial to instill
discipline; the kind of discipline required for a modern
industrial nation.

South Korea and Singapore -- countries which impose mandatory
military service -- have been cited as examples in which the
skill sets acquired through military training have become assets
in their country's leap to industrialization.

We agree that discipline is a particular characteristic that
many Indonesians sorely lack.

But the if the price for discipline is the militarization of
society, then the country best seek other alternatives.

For much of the past three decades, our military has been used
against its own people. There have been far too many instances
where innocent civilians have become the targets of military
wrath.

Indonesia does not have clear prohibitions, such as those in
the United States, that forbids the use of the military on its
own soil. There are also questions on whether the military, the
Army in particular, has truly accepted its exclusive role in the
defense domain and forsaken its desire to intrude into internal
political and security issues.

One can understand the dilemma faced by a conscript army if,
for example, it were deployed to Aceh or Papua. The issue of
mandatory military service is not only socially divisive; it
could potentially threaten national unity.

Rejecting military service does not imply a lack of
patriotism. If the Indonesian state was under external threat,
millions would instinctively rush to the frontlines as they did
during the war of independence.

On the contrary, it is the logic of compulsory military
service with its forced patriotism and militarist indoctrination
that violates the nation's yearning to create a vibrant, just and
civilized society.