Fri, 06 Oct 2000

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