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.