Marines set ABRI fine example
Marines set ABRI fine example
By Andrew Trigg and Haryana Susi Achadiena
JAKARTA (JP): Two attitudes were apparent towards the Armed
Forces (ABRI) on Saturday Nov. 14, the day after Black Friday.
On the day when grief, and the fear of worse to come, hung
heavy in the air the Marines were seen being cheered, applauded
and high-fived by masses of students and ordinary people.
They were willingly cooperating with the Marines in
maintaining public order. In stark contrast, several police
officers were beaten, almost fatally, and Kostrad trucks were
jeered and pelted with rocks by the very same masses.
These are the results of ABRI's two extreme approaches. The
first approach, applied so blatantly by the police, Kostrad and
others on Friday night, is one of crushing the opposition with
overwhelming force -- a paradigm of war. It makes frightening
viewing. The nation watched in disbelief and revulsion as unarmed
demonstrators were shot with automatic weapons and beaten
savagely with heavy clubs.
There was intent to harm, desire to injure, if not murder. In
one televised incident, advancing security forces ferociously
attacked benignly seated students. In another, a demonstrator,
already unconscious from being shot, was beaten repeatedly on the
head with nightsticks. A young man, apparently a journalist, was
brutally clubbed when trying to assist a fallen demonstrator.
Automatic weapons were fired at close range. Just a few of
countless excesses that occurred on a night of relentless death
and despair.
That the police (who are supposed to be more "civilian" than
the soldiery) were committing some of the most violent and
injurious excesses is a striking indication of how very wrong the
approach was.
Furthermore, the approach failed dismally. Quite apart from
its failure to maintain public order, Friday's incident has dealt
a massive blow to ABRI's credibility in the eyes of the public.
A banner borne by students on Saturday ("Students are not the
objects of war practice") said it all -- a growing segment of the
public no longer trusts that ABRI is on their side or accords it
the respect or cooperation that it once gave so freely.
Hence Saturday's beatings of policemen and the stoning of
trucks -- violent actions that cannot be condoned, but
nevertheless indicate the depth of the public's sense of hurt and
outrage at this "crushing the opposition" approach.
Yet if ABRI wishes to regain the trust, respect and
cooperation of the people, there is a glimmer of hope. A shining
example of the way forward has been provided by part of ABRI
itself -- the Marine Corps. For the approach they have applied
since May, and most strikingly throughout Saturday's potentially
explosive street tension, has been one of professionalism,
restraint and service to the people.
Their professionalism and restraint were plain to see on
Saturday, when the nation teetered on the brink of complete
chaos. Again and again, Marines used the minimum force necessary
to maintain public order and won many hearts with their non-
threatening, communicative and good-humored approach, even when
facing extremely tense and potentially violent situations.
Their manner seemed designed specifically to avoid
intimidating people. They wore no combat-ready body armor or
helmets, they kept their guns slung on their backs and at times
they even smiled and joked with the crowds. Often they were seen
mingling among the people rather than forming confrontational
lines across streets.
And yet with relatively few soldiers they were able to
maintain calm in many parts of the city without a single fatality
on either side. In some cases their very appearance on the scene
of trouble had an instant calming effect, as if their trademark
purple berets were endowed with some kind of magic pacifying
power.
Yet the secret of the Marines' success is no magical mystery;
it appears to be simply this: In serving the people, they
consistently balance their duty to uphold public order with an
appreciation of the public's legitimate aspirations and their
basic human needs to be heard and to be treated with restraint,
respect and fairness.
The Marines clearly empathized with the students' wish to
march to parliament, but they had the courage to refuse them
entry to the complex even though they were hopelessly
outnumbered by the crowd. Still, the crowd complied and
eventually dispersed peacefully of their own accord. Nor did
their tolerance of the people's concerns hinder them in stamping
out looting and violence in Jakarta's shopping areas on Saturday.
As the Marines have proven, empathizing with the public does not
mean compromising standards of security and order.
The very real result of their approach is a level of respect
and cooperation from the public that some parts of ABRI may
currently only dream about. And it was this goodwill on the part
of the public that was so crucial in averting disaster on
Saturday.
In Senen, student leaders worked hand in hand with Marines to
calm down angry masses intent on looting. In another incident,
students sat with Marines on military trucks to prevent them from
being pelted with rocks (tellingly, the trucks and the troops in
them belonged to other military forces).
In Salemba, students helped Marines pacify an angry mob bent
on attacking a police station. And at Atma Jaya University, a
potential repetition of Friday's madness was diffused quickly
when Marines arrived on the scene. In short, on Saturday the
Marines proved that for soldiers to be both firm and sensitive at
the same time is not only possible, but it is also the best way
to uphold public order with the fewest possible personnel.
The professional approach demonstrated by different Marines
in different locations throughout the day was so uniform that it
can not be simply the initiative of troops on the ground. It is
more likely the result of more professional and public service-
oriented paradigms subscribed to by the Marines' leaders, which,
through aligned orders, indoctrination, procedures and training,
translate into the more humane approach in the field.
Certainly, such a paradigm was apparent in a recent speech by
Maj. Gen. Suharto, the Marine Corps commander, at their simple
anniversary celebration on Sunday morning. The general instructed
his men to "give the people a sense of safety... I expect that we
will be able to control ourselves the best we can" to the
applause of the local people and students who were allowed to
attend.
Serve the people and show restraint. How many people across
the country would like to make the same request of the entire
armed forces? How quickly would the soldiers that make up other
military forces in Indonesia change their ways if their leaders
set the same example?
Last Friday and Saturday events seemed to have crystallized
Indonesian public opinion and the message they are sending to
ABRI's leaders appears to be simply this:
"You reap what you sow. We are reasonable and tolerant people.
We are not extreme by nature and we do not like to create
trouble. If you treat us with respect, we will be like you and we
will happily cooperate with you in upholding public order. Your
job will be easy. But if you continue to treat us with violence
and contempt, we will not respect you and we will not cooperate
with you. We may even resist you. National stability will remain
just a dream.
"As for the future, the paradigm of crushing the opposition is
dead -- it just won't work any more. Follow the example set by
the Marines last Saturday. Instruct, train, and coach your
soldiers to serve us and protect us with restraint.
"If you want to be loved, make yourself lovable. If you want
to be respected, be worthy of respect. Please make the right
choice, the good choice. It is the only way to create lasting
security and peace in this country. And that's what you want too,
isn't it?"
The writers work for Business Dynamics, a training consultancy
in Jakarta.
Window: Yet if ABRI wishes to regain the trust, respect and
cooperation of the people, there is a glimmer of hope. A shining
example of the way forward has been provided by part of ABRI
itself -- the Marine Corps.