Historic chance for RI's military

Historic chance for RI's military

By M. D. Nalapat

GURGAON, India (JP): Despite the appalling mistake of
permitting East Timor to break away just when the rest of the
country was on the threshold of democracy, Indonesia is likely to
emerge as a major strategic player in Asia, together with China,
Japan and India.

However, this is possible only if the country retains the
moderate, inclusivist Pancasila philosophy of first president
Sukarno, and returns from its flirtation with radicalism. Backers
of Wahabbism are seeking to implant the language, dress and
customs of the Saudi desert on the rich greenery of the
archipelago, a process that was openly encouraged by Soeharto and
B.J. Habibie in the past and by Speaker of the People's
Consultative Assembly Amien Rais today.

The mistakes made in East Timor were born of that flirtation
with extremism, as was the slew of other ethnic conflicts
afflicting this giant of Asia. Thanks to Wahabbism, Christians,
Hindus and even Muslims have been alienated from the ruling
structure, and moved some to join separatist movements.

These can be tackled only by creating a country in the vision
of President Abdurrahman Wahid and Vice President Megawati
Soekarnoputri: an Indonesia where the tradition of religious
tolerance and social moderation is continued. Indonesia, India,
Kuwait, Malaysia and Syria show the world that Muslims are not
fanatics, that they are as modern as any other group, perhaps
more so.

It is a matter of pride for the ummat (Muslim community) that
the richest man in India, Azim Hisham Premji, is a Muslim, and
that the scientist in charge of that country's muscular missile
and rocket program, Abdul Kalam, is also a Muslim. It is a matter
for rejoicing that the Emir of Kuwait has ordered that women in
his country be given the vote, just as it is that in the highest
levels in Indonesia there are many Buddhists, Hindus and
Christians.

Unlike the Clinton administration, which believes that only
western countries are entitled to the privilege of a robust
defense, and which consequently is backing Australia to act as a
regional bully in Asia, the fact remains that strong economic
performance needs to be protected by a powerful armed capability.

The role of the Indonesian Military (TNI) is therefore crucial
in the protection of the material gains of the republic. However,
at present the armed forces in Indonesia is at a crossroads, with
two models before them: that of Pakistan and its neighbor India.

In Pakistan, the armed forces have toppled the democratic
order four times, the last in November 1999, when Gen. Pervez
Musharraf overthrew Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and imposed a
dictatorship. This helped push Pakistan further down the
precipice of social unrest and economic chaos

Even more troubling, the armed forces in Pakistan no longer
regard themselves as a modern professional force. Indian military
campaigns have witnessed Hindu troops fighting Hindu Tamils in
Sri Lanka, Sikh soldiers battling Sikh insurgents in the Punjab
and Muslim units such as the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry
attacking (Muslim) Pakistani soldiers in Kashmir.

The Indian military is professional, a force that will carry
out civilian orders and will do so without any motive other than
military -- which is probably why the Indian forces have pummeled
their Pakistani counterparts since 1965. The 1971 defeat and
surrender of 93,000 Pakistani troops to Indian forces in Dhaka
and the retreat from Kargil in 1999 are evidence of this claim.

Will Indonesian armed forces chiefs follow the thinking of
their Pakistani counterparts, and believe that they have a right
to intervene in democratic politics? Will they see the armed
forces as a composite of the many religious and social traditions
that make up the glorious culture of Indonesia, or will they seek
to mold it as an instrument for the spread of extremism, as the
Pakistan army does?

Equally crucial, will the TNI follow the Pakistan model,
reportedly nurturing terrorist gangs, thus risking a conventional
backlash? Today, jihad elements are being trained in Afghanistan
and Pakistan under the supervision of the Inter-Services
Intelligence of the Pakistan army, and that these elements have
gone out of control, threatening to plunge even Pakistan into
chaos.

It is not the writer's case that India's example needs to be
uncritically followed. Because of a global surfeit of military
coups, India's democratic leaders swung the pendulum too far, and
denied the armed forces any voice even in security-related
decisions.

Today, this lack of professional expertise in national
security considerations is costing India heavily in lapses in
internal security. While the Indonesian armed forces need to
follow the Indian pattern of being free of politics and religious
extremism, the democratic leadership in Indonesia needs to avoid
the Indian mistake of total exclusion, and include armed forces
opinion in key defense and security structures.

Indonesia should show the way to its bigger neighbor and
future partner in how to create structures that draw on the
substantial pool of professional competence within the armed
forces.

President Abdurrahman and Vice President Megawati have a
vision of Indonesia joining China and India in a resurgent Asia.
For that to happen, the TNI leadership must avoid the pitfalls of
involvement in politics and in extremist crusades, and keep alive
the spirit of Pancasila.

Already Russia, India and China are acting in concert on a
number of international issues, most notably in resisting the
doctrine that the former colonial powers have the Divine Right of
intervention worldwide. It is a matter of sorrow that East Timor
has welcomed back the former colonialists and underlined its
servitude to them. The Timorese should realize that acting as a
colonial outpost cannot guarantee their security, only acceptance
of their Asian identity can.

Indonesia must show the way in this, by establishing itself as
a multicultural, multireligious country along the lines of India
and the United States. In such a task, the role of the TNI is
crucial. A historic responsibility lies on the shoulders of the
commanders of this great institution. They should not let
Indonesia and its traditions down.

The writer is a distinguished fellow at the University of
Georgia, the United States.