Military rebuilding political power base, observers warn
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The military has won accolades for scraping institutions established to reinforce its political role during the 32 years of Soeharto's authoritarian rule.
Liquidating the socio-political affairs and territorial posts have been the moves most applauded as proof of the military's pledge to quit politics and focus on its defense role.
But is the military really quitting politics? The answer is no, and in some ways it is, in fact, actually making a comeback. That is what respected experts have observed over the past year, a period when the civilian government was plagued by instability.
They point to the government's wish to reestablish a military command in Aceh, and probably elsewhere, in the future as a clear indication that the military is rebuilding its political infrastructure.
Another matter they point to is the inconsistencies among politicians and government officials about the military's role in politics, whereas getting the military out of politics was one of the priorities of the political reforms that pro-democracy activists pledged following Soeharto's fall in 1998.
"Inconsistencies abound ... while the military's pledge to quit politics exists only in words," said military analyst Kusnanto Anggoro.
Kusnanto was speaking at a discussion on reform of the security sector in Jakarta. The other speakers were Rizal Sukma, Cornelis Lay, Ikrar Nusa Bhakti, Munir, Edy Prasetyono, and Hari Prihatono.
The deployment of around 1,000 troops last July in the vicinity of the state palace to intimidate then president Abdurrahman Wahid, who was facing impeachment at the time, was an example of the civilian government allowing the military to intervene in politics, he said.
Abdurrahman was known as a leader who wanted to see the military out of politics.
Rizal said that President Megawati Soekarnoputri could not control the military because she needed the military to help her stay in power.
"Megawati just gives freedom to the military to do what it likes to defend its interests," Rizal added.
This perception was shared by Munir, a human rights campaigner. He said that the effort to end the military's role in politics had become a damp squib now that the government and politicians were extending greater opportunities to the military to rebuild its political base.
He referred to the political process during the Assembly Special Session in July, when the military/police faction in the supreme legislative body played a very important role.
The bargaining position of the military had also been strengthening, as was obvious from the government's indecisive stand in dealing with the numerous violations of human rights involving the military.
"The delayed tribunal for military officers implicated in rights abuses in East Timor (in 1999) is a good example," Munir said.
Ikrar, a researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, pointed out that the wish to reestablish the military regional command in Aceh could be followed by similar plans elsewhere in areas of conflict, such as Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi and Irian Jaya.
Ikrar also recalled that in the past the military had wished to establish regional military commands in various new provinces, cities and regencies.
"It is only reasonable if the public questions whether there is any connection between the conflicts in various regions and the wish of the military to establish regional military commands," said .
If Megawati did approve the military's plan to revive its command in Aceh, it would show that she only did what the military wanted, he said.
Rizal, a political observer from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said the Aceh plan conflicted with military leaders' claims that they meant to drop the military's territorial functions.
"We have often heard of it and therefore it is a paradox if now the military wants to reestablish or form new regional military commands," Rizal added.
If the military really wished to drop its territorial functions, it should proceed by reducing its presence in several regions through the closure of the military commands in those regions in stages, said Rizal.
Hasballah M. Saad, an Acehnese human rights activist, doubted that the reestablishment of a regional command in Aceh was based on the wishes of the Acehnese people as claimed by Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh.
"We should remember that the wish of the military to reestablish the Iskandar Muda military command was first made public in 1998. So, if there now is a claim that the wish comes from the Aceh people. we must question this," he added.