More discussion about TNI/Police
More discussion about TNI/Police
JAKARTA (JP): People's Consultative Assembly factions defended
their decision on Monday to extend the Indonesian Military
(TNI)/Police role in the Assembly, calling on critics to face the
"political reality" that immediately abolishing their political
roles could lead to further turmoil.
Senior Golkar Party legislator Syamsul Muarif warned critics
not to ignore the fact that the military had played a major
political role for the last 35 years, and that it would not be
easy to omit the military in a short time.
Prematurely eliminating the military/police seats in the
Assembly could backfire and eventually endanger the nation
itself, Syamsul warned.
"It is a political reality that TNI played a key role in the
past. "And when the role is suddenly abolished, we fear that they
may get out of control," Syamsul told The Jakarta Post here on
Monday.
According to Syamsul, the Assembly has agreed to allow the
military/police faction to retain a presence in the Assembly
until 2009 at which time a new constitution will come into effect
which will prohibit the military/police faction from active
participation in politics.
Syamsul concurred with a possible reduction of the
military/police faction's seats in the Assembly without saying
how many.
The faction is currently allocated 38 seats.
The military and police are traditionally barred from
participating in general elections. In return they are allocated
a certain number of seats in the House of Representatives and the
Assembly.
The plenary session of the Assembly is expected on Tuesday to
endorse the commission's proposal to continue allocating seats in
the Assembly despite an earlier commitment to abolish their seats
in the House.
It is unclear exactly how many seats the faction will get. A
copy of the draft decree which may be adopted on Tuesday suggests
that the TNI/Police faction may be reduced to 19 seats.
Syamsul also said he could understand people's dissatisfaction
that the 500,000-member TNI/Police faction had 38 seats while the
National Mandate Party (PAN) which gained over five million votes
in the general election has only 34 seats.
"Let them (the military) see with their own eyes the new
political constellation, that they must stand outside of the
political scene ... Let's be patient," Syamsul insisted.
The largest faction in the Assembly, the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), described its decision to
support the allocation of seats for the TNI/Police faction as a
fair measure and was in compliance with State Policy Guidelines.
"The Assembly represents all layers of society throughout the
country. What will happen if there are certain groups of people
who are not allowed to vote. Who will represent them at the
Assembly?" said Panda Nababan, a PDI Perjuangan legislator.
Panda insisted that as citizens, TNI/Police members also have
political rights and they must have a medium to exercise those
rights.
"We are still in compliance with the previous agreement that
in 2004 there will be no more TNI/Police representation in the
House of Representatives, but in the Assembly the situation is
different," said the former journalist.
Not surprisingly, members of the TNI/Police faction hailed the
Assembly's decision.
The faction's Ferry Tinggogoy warned it would be
counterproductive if the military was ousted from the Assembly
without a transition period. He maintained that his faction and
other factions still needed each other.
"It is not only people outside who want us to quit from the
Assembly, we also want to leave! But you must remember the
difference between a wish and a reality," Ferry remarked.
"We have sacrificed by not having the right to vote, so give
us a chance to contribute to the Assembly," Ferry said.
The National Awakening Party's Ali Masykur Musa remarked that
the military must be given "appropriate time" to adjust in facing
the country's latest developments.
Ali remarked that it is possible for the military to
eventually be allowed to vote in general elections as a way out
of the conundrum.
"As a tool of the state they should be impartial. But if they
are granted the right to vote, the general public will question
their impartiality. We must overcome this issue," he added.
But the chairman of the TNI/Police faction in the Assembly,
Hari Sabarno, said that even if they lose seats in the Assembly
and were given the right to vote it is likely the military would
still not use the option to exercise their right to vote.
"We still might not use our vote because political party
intervention in the military would create a huge impact," Hary
remarked.
"It will be dangerous if differences occur among groups of
armed people. The military and the police should stay neutral by
not voting." (team)
JAKARTA (JP): People's Consultative Assembly factions defended
their decision on Monday to extend the Indonesian Military
(TNI)/Police role in the Assembly, calling on critics to face the
"political reality" that immediately abolishing their political
roles could lead to further turmoil.
Senior Golkar Party legislator Syamsul Muarif warned critics
not to ignore the fact that the military had played a major
political role for the last 35 years, and that it would not be
easy to omit the military in a short time.
Prematurely eliminating the military/police seats in the
Assembly could backfire and eventually endanger the nation
itself, Syamsul warned.
"It is a political reality that TNI played a key role in the
past. "And when the role is suddenly abolished, we fear that they
may get out of control," Syamsul told The Jakarta Post here on
Monday.
According to Syamsul, the Assembly has agreed to allow the
military/police faction to retain a presence in the Assembly
until 2009 at which time a new constitution will come into effect
which will prohibit the military/police faction from active
participation in politics.
Syamsul concurred with a possible reduction of the
military/police faction's seats in the Assembly without saying
how many.
The faction is currently allocated 38 seats.
The military and police are traditionally barred from
participating in general elections. In return they are allocated
a certain number of seats in the House of Representatives and the
Assembly.
The plenary session of the Assembly is expected on Tuesday to
endorse the commission's proposal to continue allocating seats in
the Assembly despite an earlier commitment to abolish their seats
in the House.
It is unclear exactly how many seats the faction will get. A
copy of the draft decree which may be adopted on Tuesday suggests
that the TNI/Police faction may be reduced to 19 seats.
Syamsul also said he could understand people's dissatisfaction
that the 500,000-member TNI/Police faction had 38 seats while the
National Mandate Party (PAN) which gained over five million votes
in the general election has only 34 seats.
"Let them (the military) see with their own eyes the new
political constellation, that they must stand outside of the
political scene ... Let's be patient," Syamsul insisted.
The largest faction in the Assembly, the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), described its decision to
support the allocation of seats for the TNI/Police faction as a
fair measure and was in compliance with State Policy Guidelines.
"The Assembly represents all layers of society throughout the
country. What will happen if there are certain groups of people
who are not allowed to vote. Who will represent them at the
Assembly?" said Panda Nababan, a PDI Perjuangan legislator.
Panda insisted that as citizens, TNI/Police members also have
political rights and they must have a medium to exercise those
rights.
"We are still in compliance with the previous agreement that
in 2004 there will be no more TNI/Police representation in the
House of Representatives, but in the Assembly the situation is
different," said the former journalist.
Not surprisingly, members of the TNI/Police faction hailed the
Assembly's decision.
The faction's Ferry Tinggogoy warned it would be
counterproductive if the military was ousted from the Assembly
without a transition period. He maintained that his faction and
other factions still needed each other.
"It is not only people outside who want us to quit from the
Assembly, we also want to leave! But you must remember the
difference between a wish and a reality," Ferry remarked.
"We have sacrificed by not having the right to vote, so give
us a chance to contribute to the Assembly," Ferry said.
The National Awakening Party's Ali Masykur Musa remarked that
the military must be given "appropriate time" to adjust in facing
the country's latest developments.
Ali remarked that it is possible for the military to
eventually be allowed to vote in general elections as a way out
of the conundrum.
"As a tool of the state they should be impartial. But if they
are granted the right to vote, the general public will question
their impartiality. We must overcome this issue," he added.
But the chairman of the TNI/Police faction in the Assembly,
Hari Sabarno, said that even if they lose seats in the Assembly
and were given the right to vote it is likely the military would
still not use the option to exercise their right to vote.
"We still might not use our vote because political party
intervention in the military would create a huge impact," Hary
remarked.
"It will be dangerous if differences occur among groups of
armed people. The military and the police should stay neutral by
not voting." (team)