Is TNI serious about its reform commitment?

Is TNI serious about its reform commitment?

Imanuddin, Staff Writer, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Is the Indonesian Military (TNI) serious with its commitment
to carry out internal reforms? Most senior and influential
military figures would say "yes" -- adding, "but it should be
gradual".

If probed further about reform in TNI, officers are likely to
answer that it will certainly take place "as long as it does not
bring political destabilization and civil unrest".

People may still remember that the late Lt. Gen. Agus
Wirahadikusumah, known as a "reformist", went through a bitter
experience when he was replaced as chief of the Army's Strategic
Reserves Command (Kostrad) and left grounded with no position at
all within the military leadership structure, for airing his
ideas on immediate and thorough reform in the TNI.

Agus, a confidante to then president Abdurrahman Wahid,
reportedly did not even have his own desk at the Army
Headquarters after his dismissal from Kostrad.

Then coordinating minister for political and security affairs
Wiranto said that Agus' statement threatened the TNI's unity and
that the reform measures he had proposed were not yet applicable.
Indonesians, Wiranto said, were still not ready to accept such
immediate openness.

The downfall of president Soeharto in May 1998 had driven the
country to pursue reforms in all sectors of society, including
the TNI. As part of its commitment to reform, the TNI announced
its willingness to gradually quit politics and its territorial
function.

The TNI has repeatedly said that it will withdraw from the
House of Representatives (DPR) in 2004 and fully shed its
political role when it quits the People's Consultative Assembly
(MPR) in 2009.

It has long been suggested that the TNI's territorial
function, previously known as its sociopolitical function, be
eradicated. At least, the idea was raised by former Army chief of
staff Gen. Rudini in April 1997, who said that the TNI chief of
sociopolitical affairs and the TNI chief of general affairs were
two key positions that often overlapped.

The planned handover of the TNI's territorial function,
however, was only officially announced by then TNI chief of
territorial affairs Lt. Gen. Agus Widjojo last August. If
implemented, TNI's territorial affairs will then be held by a
two-star general, who will report to the TNI's chief of general
affairs.

But Widjojo maintained that the TNI would not abolish its
territorial function but would hand the function over to local
administrations and the National Police.

He admitted, however, that someday TNI must release its
territorial function to local administrations and police and
solely focus on defense, such as training and preparing combat
units in the regions and preparing defense plans for the regions.

He hinted at the possibility of dissolving TNI's territorial
institutions below military resort commands (Korem), including
the district military command at the regency level (Kodim) and
all military units at lower levels, including subdistrict
military command (Koramil) and military officers in charge of
village security (Babinsa).

Widjojo's statement was welcomed by military observers. Some,
such as Indro Tjahjono, expressed reservations. He doubted that
the plan to drop the military's territorial function would take
place smoothly as there were still many officers who wanted to be
involved in politics.

Indro suggested that if the military really wanted to drop its
territorial function, it should be followed by the dissolution of
the regional military commands (Kodam).

There has not yet been any response from TNI Headquarters on
such suggestions, which, if endorsed, would leave dozens of two-
star generals with no structural posts.

With its territorial function, the military has been deeply
involved in civil affairs, especially during the administration
of former president Soeharto, who used military networks down to
the village level to silence his critics.

Nevertheless, the military's territorial work has in some
cases brought about improvements to the physical development of
local areas such as in helping to build infrastructure and
improving people's social welfare.

A legislator from the Military/Police faction in the House of
Representatives (DPR), Christina M. Rantetana, defended the
military's seriousness with its reform agenda, saying that there
were many military officers who agreed that they should no longer
be used as a political tool.

To many, reform in the military means TNI's independence from
the influence of the state apparatus or the ruling government.

Many may still recall the days before the downfall of Soeharto
in May 1998 when around 100,000 student protesters gathered at
the DPR/MPR compound and were about to move to the presidential
palace in an attempt to force Soeharto to resign.

The students canceled their movement after receiving
information that the TNI had been ordered by the then president
to shoot on site anyone attempting to approach the palace.

Yet, the political developments in the capital, which saw the
resignation of key Cabinet ministers and the MPR's official
request that Soeharto resign, had forced the then TNI chief Gen.
Wiranto to see the then president and told him that the TNI could
not carry out his instruction to shoot the protesters as it would
mean killing thousands of people.

A year before, the military's "proper" stance in observing
such a critical situation and its relationship with the ruling
government, had already been suggested by Rudini.

The TNI's independence from the government was then practiced
by Wiranto's successors who had the courage to question a
presidential instruction and even ignore it. This could be
observed from the TNI leaders' objection to a plan by then
president Abdurrahman to declare and impose a state of emergency
in the last days of his presidency.

Apart from the TNI's commitment to reform, people may also
have to observe an unwritten but widely accepted agreement among
elements in the TNI that it will do all it can to maintain the
unitary State of the Republic.

Within the TNI it has been accepted that the military could
take the initiative to take necessary steps to prevent
disintegration.

Many analysts believe that the TNI will take control of the
situation if the country does begin to disintegrate. And if that
happens, the country may see the establishment of a military-led
government.