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.