Military urged to relinquish political role

Military urged to relinquish political role

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Military (TNI), which celebrated
its 54th anniversary on Tuesday, is facing mounting demands to
return to its main task of defense and security and speed up
internal reform to repair its badly tarnished image.

Nurcholish Madjid, a Muslim intellectual, urged the military
to gradually phase out its role in politics and focus its
attention on developing it as a more professional, credible and
modern defense force.

"The military should use the reform era as a momentum to
reform itself and concentrate on its main function," Nurcholish
commented after attending the anniversary ceremony at TNI
Headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta, on Tuesday.

He said he was glad to notice that the military was
repositioning itself and had started withdrawing from politics.

The ceremony, attended by high-ranking military officers,
ministers and foreign diplomats, was led by President B.J.
Habibie.

Separately, thousands of students and human rights activists
took to the streets in several major cities on Tuesday demanding
the abolishment of TNI's role in politics.

Nurcholish said the military's gradual retreat from the
national political stage would create a more conducive
environment for the growth of a true democracy and a civil
society in the future.

"Obviously, retired servicemen should be allowed to hold
nonmilitary positions," he added.

Amien Rais, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) chairman,
concurred that by getting rid of politics, TNI would be better
able to enhance its professionalism and maintain its neutrality
as well.

"TNI's badly damaged image has a lot to do with the poor
implementation of its dual function and partiality to a certain
political party and the ruler in the past," he said.

Amien appreciated the military's neutrality in the June
general election and suggested it take the same stance in the
presidential election on Oct. 20.

Habibie stressed the important role of the military in
maintaining stability and security, which is required for overall
development.

"It is now urgent for TNI to remove any doubts (from all
sides) about its commitment to the nation and its determination
to function as a professional, effective, efficient and modern
defense force," Habibie said.

He called on TNI to reposition itself and readjust its role.

The President said TNI's neutrality in the June general
election showed that the military, with its new paradigm, made a
fundamental change in a short time.

Habibie warned that the nation's unity was now at stake and
the reform era had given rise to differences leading to acts of
violence.

"TNI is facing a dilemma since it is demanded to comply with
human rights in carrying out its defense and security tasks under
a severe lack of modern hardware and limited human resources,"
Habibie said.

Habibie regretted that differences in opinions often led to
conflicts and violence which were contradictory to a democratic
civil society.

"Therefore, I ask the military to prevent conflicts and
violence. We are confident that violence will never solve
problems but, on the contrary, will create new problems," he
added.

Salim Said, a military analyst, called on the military to
correct all the mistakes it did in the past, suggesting that in
the future TNI should be under civilian rule in accordance with
the 1945 Constitution.

"The military should be under civilian rule," Salim said,
citing Article 10 of the Constitution which stipulates that the
President is the supreme commander of the Army, Navy and Air
Force.

United States Defense Secretary William S. Cohen, who visited
Jakarta last week, also urged TNI to return to its main function
in defense and security and to position itself under civilian
rule. (rms/33/prb)