New Order duties overburdened ABRI: Bambang

JAKARTA (JP): As the debate rages over the scope of the Armed Forces (ABRI) role in the reform era, a senior ABRI officer has admitted the military was overburdened during the New Order regime of former president Soeharto.

Addressing foreign and local executives and diplomats at a luncheon of the Indonesian Executives Club Wednesday, ABRI Chief of Sociopolitical Affairs Lt. Gen. Soesilo Bambang Yudhoyono partly blamed the New Order government for overextending his organization with duties, which had caused it to commit errors.

He said ABRI was invested with too many tasks and roles to fulfill, and had become too powerful as a result.

After the luncheon address, he explained to reporters that ABRI's failing was that it had felt responsible for all of the nation's problems. A new awareness, he said, should be developed that the military shares the country's responsibilities.

But he stressed the Armed Forces was still needed to uphold national stability.

"Could we overcome the crisis and carry out the reform program without national stability? Could the government conduct its positive steps to heal the troubled economy if riots and disturbances still occur in a number of areas in Indonesia?"

Bambang regretted that the military was linked to or blamed for past unrest, mass killings and human rights violations.

As far as security and stability were concerned, the public turned to the military, he said, but it was condemned for infractions and deaths when handling riots, massive demonstrations, labor strikes and other problems.

Although Bambang acknowledged that ABRI had committed errors, he argued they occurred in the name of ensuring stability and maintaining public order.

"To tell the truth, what ABRI did in the past was part of its mission to maintain security and order which the state held ABRI to be responsible for."

He denied allegations ABRI was behind recent riots in several cities, saying the organization had never engineered "unlaudable actions" for its own interests.

"ABRI still has many things to do. It is conducting consolidation against fierce criticism of its bad image in the past. We are making corrections," he said after the meeting.

Echoing previous statements of Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto, he said ABRI was making adjustments to its dual social political function because it was determined to better itself in accordance with the government's push for democracy.

The military would focus more on its defense role, he said, and minimize its political role by reducing representation in the House of Representatives and the People's Consultative Assembly.

"We will put the emphasis on quality and not on quantity."

He also said foreign countries should not intervene excessively in Indonesia's internal affairs despite their aid to the battered country.

"We do not want any intervention which may lead us to fail in carrying out national reform. We will be very pleased and grateful for any foreign support and assistance sincerely provided to this beloved country," he said.

"Despite democratization, this does not mean that security and stability are to be neglected and stranded."

American envoy Stapleton J. Roy was quoted by Antara after the talk saying that his government believed Indonesia under President B.J. Habibie would be able to manage all problems caused by the crisis.

He said the country had the chance to implement political and economic reforms which would be important in creating the required stability.

Roy also expressed agreement with Bambang's assertion that the nation needed a capable rather than a strong leader. (rms)