Military needs political umbrella

Military needs political umbrella

From Koran Tempo

Recently, Coordinating Minister for Political and Security
Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called on the public to observe
the development of circumstances in Aceh, where the separatist
Free Aceh Movement (GAM) continue to resort to violence.

The dialog that Jakarta has sought to hold with GAM, even with
the mediation of a third party, has yet to bring this separatist
movement to a settlement in the format of the Nangroe Aceh
Darussalam (NAD), as agreed upon in Geneva.

GAM has recently intensified its actions, murdering people,
destroying facilities in NAD and terrorizing ordinary people.

Susilo has warned that if necessary, the government will
declare a military emergency in the province, although this would
not be a popular decision. Unfortunately, this warning seems to
have gone unheeded in our society. Our politicians and members of
the House of Representatives and People's Consultative Assembly
have paid little attention, if any, to this warning. As a result,
the Aceh question seems to be untouched by national political
decisions.

The Indonesian Military has time and again insisted that they
be given a political umbrella to carry out their duties in Aceh,
but this request is simply ignored.

In Aceh, the military assists the police and cannot,
therefore, carry out its operations to exterminate GAM to the
maximum. As a result, the morale of members of the military has
dropped because they serve only the function of maintaining
security and order, instead of going into combat as befits their
nature.

Strangely, our politicians in the House allow this ridiculous
situation -- the military under the command of the police -- to
continue, so that the Aceh question has become politically
uncertain.

I cannot understand why it seems that the Aceh question is now
solely the responsibility of the coordinating minister for
political and security affairs and his kind. Can the politicians
in the House sleep at night and claim they have not committed
political sins in Aceh?

YUN AGUNG PRATAMA

Jakarta