New Order duties overburdened ABRI: Bambang

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)