Nasution urges ABRI to return to people's fold

JAKARTA (JP): Respected former military commander Gen. (ret) Abdul Haris Nasution greeted the 51st anniversary of the Armed Forces by urging it to "return" to the people.

"The Armed Forces (ABRI) has to return to its original doctrine, namely that it belongs to the nation," he told reporters here yesterday.

The Armed Forces, he said, was once the people's liberation army. But the role of it has been shifting for some time so that now it is the "soldiers that control the people".

The Armed Forces, he said, should stand behind the people. "What's good for people, should also be good for ABRI," he said.

Armed Forces Day falls tomorrow. It will be commemorated in a ceremony at the Senayan eastern parking lot here.

Quoting the principles to guide the Armed Forces which were taught by the country's first Armed Forces chief Gen. Soedirman, Nasution said the Armed Forces should always side with the people.

Nasution expressed deep concern over some people's impression that the Armed Forces had become "exclusive" and alienated from the people, despite its historical roots that it is from the people and that it belongs to the people.

He said this impression may have been caused by individuals in the Armed Forces who were fighting for their own vested interests.

Speaking at his home, Nasution noted some of the changed roles that the Armed Forces was playing. The fact that the Armed Forces had entered the social and political arena and backed a "certain" group would cast a bad light on its identity, he said.

Military officials have stated several times recently that members of the Armed Forces should "channel" their political aspirations through the ruling Golkar.

The political role of the Armed Forces is set out in Law No. 20/1982, which stipulates that it must work together with all sociopolitical forces to ensure national development.

For the Armed Forces to side with any one of the political parties is tantamount to a "father" taking sides with a favorite "son", he said.

"Whatever the reasons may be, this stance does not befit a good and wise father, much less if it originates from a vested interest," he said.

Nasution reminded the Armed Forces that it still ruled the New Order government, and that it had the major task of ensuring that the New Order's ideals were preserved. It should also ensure that the violations and mistakes once committed by the Old Order do not recur, he said.

It is also obliged to maintain a pure implementation of the 1945 Constitution, he said.

"The Armed Forces main task is to avoid repeating the violations and mistakes of the Old Order. This task is no-less significant than its previous task of fighting for the country's independence," he said.

Nasution also called on the Armed Forces to use recent local and foreign criticism for introspection.

He said the Armed Forces, because of its position in the New Order era, was expected to help give Indonesians an ideal life, materially, spiritually and politically.

When asked how to bridge the attitude gap between retired military officials and those who were in active service, Nasution replied that it greatly depended on the current military leaders.

Retired officers, he said, "can only provide information and share opinions... The fate of this nation is in the hands of the current military leaders," he said. (imn)