Military under fire for power abuses, unchecked violence

JAKARTA (JP): Lt. Gen. Agum Gumelar, under fire over the military's perceived inability to halt recent outbreaks violence, or remain out of the fray, admitted on Wednesday that the country's myriad social problems were growing harder to handle.

"Even the most sophisticated military in the world would find it difficult to address the unrest in our country," Agum said.

Agum, who heads the National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas), a military think-tank, was speaking at a seminar on the role of the military during the transition to democracy organized by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Earlier, legal expert M. Fajrul Falaakh presented the results of research undertaken by the centre which revealed that civilians believe the military is unwilling to carry out reforms.

Falaakh said the military may not have publicly objected to the campaign for it to cut back its role in politics, but argued that did not mean it was not opposed to any such move.

He suggested that ongoing violence in the country could be taken as a sign that the military was actively resisting any attempts to sideline it in national affairs.

"Some believe hard liners (within the military) are letting the violent social fragmentation continue intentionally," he said.

Agum said the view was understandable given that many people believe the military is still a "tool of the political elite" as it was in the past.

"I agree internal reform must be carried out quickly... I'll recommend it to those who own the military," he joked.

Agum said members who were "playing bizarre games" would be treated harshly, adding that it was possible such elements existed within the military.

"Out of hundreds of thousands (of members of the Armed Forces), some five, 10 or one hundred may have drunk too much beer and become dizzy and kidnapped somebody," he said.

Eleven members of the Army's Special Force (Kopassus) were recently found guilty of abducting political activists during the last months of former president Soeharto's final term in office. They argued they did so to safeguard the national interests.

During the seminar, Legislator Aisyah Aminy questioned the military's sluggish response to recent outbreaks of unrest. She said the tardiness may have been part of a strategy to perpetuate the military's roles in politics, a claim rejected by Agum.

Falaakh warned the military's image would be further tarnished if it hindered the introduction of civilian politics and failed to maintain security throughout the election period.

In response, Agum reiterated the military's pledge to remain neutral in the election.

"The military will be neutral, not 'neutral' as it was in the past," he said, in reference to complaints that the military was officially neutral under Soeharto, despite blatant signs to the contrary.

The seminar was moderated by senior CSIS researcher J. Kristiadi.

Syamsurizal Panggabean of Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta drew attention to the fact that lower ranks in the military continued to abuse their authority, despite the internal reform initiatives continually trumpeted by the military's top brass.

He cited practices such as blackmailing illegal gambling den operators, forcing villagers to have "certificates of good conduct," and "militarizing the bureaucracy."

"So, we cannot just say let bygones be bygones and let's start anew... No, it's not a bygone issue yet," he said.

"The way the military is organized is against the ideals of its founding fathers (who wanted the military to serve the people)," he said.

The absence of external threats to the nation, he said, had led to the military abusing its power and inflicting suffering on the people.

"The problem is based on the military's misperception of what constitutes a nation...leading it to regard every challenge that arises from within society as an aggressive act," he said.

The military treats local people's demands for a fairer share of income generated from local resources and protests against rights violations as insurgency, he said, citing recent violence in Aceh.

He also said a law protecting lower ranking members of the military from being punished for taking orders from their superiors was needed to help speed reform in the Armed Forces. (aan)