Mr. Kusnanto, please give facts

Mr. Kusnanto, please give facts

The Indonesian Military (TNI) should be grateful to Mr.
Kusnanto, a senior researcher at the Center for Strategic and
International Studies, and who is also teaching at the University
of Indonesia. He wrote in The Jakarta Post's Sept. 28, 2000
edition an article titled Gus Dur struggles to control TNI, in
which you will find two interesting points about Gus Dur and the
military, both of which are shocking revelations to me.

That article attracted my attention because the contents are
new and beyond my imagination. It showed that people with a sharp
analytical mind can draw conclusions from existing information,
and draw conclusions beyond the common man's expectations.

Mr. Kusnanto revealed in his first point the ambition of Gus
Dur, a well-known political leader with a massive religious
organization behind him. After feeling that it is not so bad
being a president, he is now preparing for his future political
role. And obviously in his preparation he needs the backing of
the TNI, an organization hated by the politicians and the focus
of harsh criticism almost everyday, but in reality is still a
factor to be seriously considered.

Mr. Kusnanto wrote that Gus Dur struggles to control TNI. Mr.
Kusnanto did not write the President struggles to control TNI,
because as President he is the legal Supreme Commander in Chief
of the Army, Navy and Air Force as is clearly stipulated in
Chapter II Article 10 of the 1945 Constitution. So, as President
he should have no problem at all in controlling the TNI.

But Gus Dur is looking far ahead, at the time when he has to
step down as President, but still has the ambition to be a
national political leader. He realizes how important the TNI is.
You read so many things about the TNI, but the fact remains that
the TNI is still a political power. You just cannot put it aside
and ignore it.

The second point which surprised me even more is the
observation Mr. Kusnanto wrote about the TNI's production of
counterfeit money to finance their illegal operations. What kind
of illegal operation is the TNI conducting and why? This is
really news to me. But what shocked me most is the fact that the
TNI is now being accused by Mr. Kusnanto of assassinating the
leading candidate for the governor's post in Aceh. The TNI is
demoralized and there is a situation of chaos in its line of
command. Many in the military are still living in the romantic
revolutionary past.

This culture and self-image appears to be a self imposed
restriction for reform. The chief of territorial affairs in the
TNI headquarters, Lt. Gen. Agus Widjojo, has explained that the
military cannot continue to base itself purely on history but
should concentrate on becoming professional. If I had the courage
to antagonize such a prominent researcher then I would say that
his accusations that officers at the top have no way of
controlling the actions of junior officers should be backed by
facts, stating with who, when and where all these incidents
happened. Is the TNI really running out of steam? How sad! And
who will be the loser in such a scenario? Not only the TNI, but
also the people.

SOEGIH ARTO

Jakarta