Militias promote militaristic culture, analysts say

Militias promote militaristic culture, analysts say

Muhammad Nafik and Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Militaristic culture remains strong among Indonesians with the
reemergence of many civilian paramilitary groups due partly to
the security authorities' failure to do their jobs, analysts say.

Unemployment and other economic problems were other factors
contributing to the cultivation of the culture, they told The
Jakarta Post separately on Monday.

Support from police, the military and political leaders was
also an important role in the presence of military-style
organizations, they said.

University of Indonesia sociologist Iman Prasojo said that
unlike in many other nations, the militaristic culture here
tended to be violent, as it did not use the law as its key
reference.

"In Indonesia, (militias) use physical strength rather than
power or argument to achieve their political goals. It is because
democracy here still contains irrational attachments," Prasojo
said.

He said the fact the military remained a symbol of power,
wealth and status, even after President Soeharto stepped down
from power, also helped foster the militaristic culture in
society.

There are many extremist organizations and other paramilitary
groups affiliated to political parties and religions, which
experts here say should disband as they threaten Indonesia's
democracy.

Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto made
a forceful call for the dissolution of these military-style
groups after the paramilitary wing of the militant Islam
Defenders Front (FPI) froze its operations last week.

Another hard-line group, Laskar Jihad, voluntarily dissolved
itself three days after the Oct. 12 terrorist bombings on the
resort island of Bali.

Regardless of its usefulness for the general public, the
presence of civilian paramilitary groups is considered effective
by their members and sponsors to protect and secure their
interests.

"The problem is that if we maintain such a militaristic
culture, our people could become thugs and there will be more
organized groups using violence as a tool to force their own
will," Prasojo said.

Sociologist Tamrin Amal Tomagola, also from the University of
Indonesia, said the current lawlessness in Indonesia had forced
groups within the community to create their own security and
protection systems.

"They feel insecure because the security authorities do not do
their jobs adequately," he said. "Traditional institutions to
deal with communal conflicts are also ineffective."

Tamrin said unemployment had also encouraged jobless youths to
help promote the pervasive militaristic culture by joining
militia gangs in the hope of surviving the prolonged economic
crisis.

"Muslim extremists, frustrated by their oppression by the New
Order regime, have vented their frustration in an uncontrolled
manner in this reform era, resorting to violence," he said.

Prasojo and Tamrin said Indonesia must address the roots of
the problem in order to eliminate the unhealthy culture.

Similarly, sociologist Soeprapto of Yogyakarta-based Gadjah
Mada University said the collapse of Soeharto's oppressive regime
helped bolster the emergence of paramilitary groups.

With the weakening pressure and law enforcement from the
authorities, however, they had become violent, he added.

He said military-style groups basically emerged as a self-
defense mechanism of community members mostly due to feelings of
insecurity.

"They feel insecure, so they form their own 'security
force' ... that is supposed to protect them from external
threats," he said.

However, he said the presence of these groups, usually
involving laymen, often created what is called a vertical
mobilization, which could lead to an abuse of power.

"As a result, they (members) often act beyond their area of
duty or responsibility or even beyond what police are allowed to
do," Soeprapto said, adding it was a common phenomenon happening
to someone having a new status within society.

"The new status (as members of a paramilitary group) gives
them courage to act so," he asserted.