Don't worry about 'civilian militias'

Don't worry about 'civilian militias'

MAGELANG, Central Java (JP): Coordinating Minister for
Political Affairs and Security Feisal Tanjung dismissed on
Thursday concerns over the government plan to create an armed
civilian militia.

Feisal, however, failed to give a clear answer to suggestions
that trained armed civilians might be prone to act irresponsibly.

"It would not be a problem if they (the civilian militia) are
armed," Feisal said.

Feisal was in Magelang on Thursday along with 69 other
generals to attend the official ceremony to mark their retirement
from the Armed Forces at the military academy here.

Feisal also confirmed the government planned to recruit
civilians to back up security forces during the coming election
next June.

He said the recruitment of civilians would be co-organized by
the defense ministry and the National Police.

"The technical matters will be handled by the police. They
will train these civilians," Feisal said.

He said the government would recruit about 40,000 people in
the first phase.

"The security forces would not be able to handle the situation
as there are thousands of islands here and the ratio between the
security forces and the people are far from ideal," Feisal said
adding that the ratio at present was 1:1,200.

The ideal ratio, he said, was 1:350.

Feisal said the recruitment was based on the 1982 law on
defense and security which justifies the involvement of civilians
in defense and security.

Earlier, Moslem leader Abdurrahman Wahid asked Minister of
Defense and Security/Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto in
Jakarta about reports that the Armed Forces (ABRI) planned to
form civilian militia. In their meeting on Wednesday, he also
expressed his concern that those who were against moderate groups
in society would take advantage of the plan.

Wiranto confirmed the plan to establish an unarmed civilian
militia, pointing out the police were understaffed to handle the
country's 203 million people. Ideally, an additional 70,000
unarmed but uniformed security personnel were needed, he said.

However, he allayed Abdurrahman's concern by saying the
militia would not be trained by those who are against the
moderate as Abdurrahman put it.

Former vice president Try Sutrisno, who was also present in
Magelang on Thursday, backed the plan, saying that the civilian
militia was needed to police the "unpredictable situation".

Wiranto faced sharp public criticism last month when the
military mobilized 125,000 untrained civilians to help secure the
Special Session of the People's Consultative Assembly.

In recent months Indonesia has been rocked by violent unrest,
including clashes between troops and students, and religious and
economic riots that have damaged scores of places of worship.

Abdurrahman, popularly known as Gus Dur, warned that the
recent spate of violence in various cities, pitting religious and
ethnic groups against one another, as well as violent student
protests, were indications of a looming social revolution.

Prabowo

Meanwhile, Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto, the son-in-law of former
president Soeharto discharged from the army for his role in the
kidnapping and torture of activists, failed to turn up at the
retirement ceremony.

Prabowo was honorably discharged by a presidential decree
dated Nov. 20 following a decision by Wiranto in August.

The honorable discharge meant he would be retired prematurely.

Wiranto's decision was taken after a military council
concluded Prabowo was involved in the abduction and torture of
several activists earlier in the year.

Other senior officers who were retirement included Minister of
Home Affairs Lt. Gen. Syarwan Hamid, the secretary-general of the
defense ministry, Lt. Gen. Soeyono, and former ABRI chief of
general affairs Lt. Gen. Tarub. (44/byg)