No choice but to go ahead with a pledge to reform

No choice but to go ahead with a pledge to reform

On Thursday, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu met
hundreds of active and retired top army officers, where he
reiterated that the role of the country's army is different from
the expected "professional" army role elsewhere, as he claimed
there were unique problems in this country such as
disintegration. The Jakarta Post's Ati Nurbaiti talked to former
chief of territorial affairs and a former deputy speaker of the
People's Consultative Assembly Lt. Gen. Agus Widjojo on the
issue. The following are excerpts of the interview:

Question: Thursday's meeting seemed to reflect apparent fears
among senior and retired army officers of today's required end to
the military's political role, such as losing its seats in the
legislature. How do you see this?

Answer: If we see changes as a process we would understand that
in the past the Indonesian Military (TNI) had a large
responsibility over the nation's fate and it cannot just be
indifferent to that. We are now in a transition to place all
state institutions within functions to be adjusted with a modern
and democratic Indonesia.

This adjustment takes time ... it is a two-way process in
which it is crucial to have the effectiveness of the institutions
(such as the police -- Ed.), which now run the functions which
the TNI and particularly the army used to run effectively.

If we understand this we would know that this transition needs
time and patience (Defense researchers have also cited the need
for proper understanding of civil and military relations among
both civilians and the military -- Ed.).

Nevertheless, the TNI has placed itself as a part of this
nation's strategic decision to encourage a national reform
towards democratization.
Maybe senior officers are among others influenced by the initial
statement of the army leadership to end the territorial command
structure, which embodies the army's social and political role,
while later it was stated that ending the structure would have to
be gradual.

Changes cannot be seen partially but they need to be
understood as part of a more comprehensive system and eventually
they cannot be separated from the above strategic decision
towards democratization.

The function of the territorial structure has to be seen in
the light of what the nation wants because it would relate to the
whole authority of the government; so the restructuring of this
authority, including the territorial commands, cannot be decided
by the TNI alone.

This is because the territorial function is a function of
guidance and preparation of national human resources at the local
level and to prepare infrastructure whenever needed to support
defense efforts. This is a government function.
What about observations that the territorial command structures
have led to "excesses" and have been used for economic gains of
the military and its officers?

Even if there were excesses it would be handled as part of
enforcing law and discipline ... (such excesses) have never been
part of the command policy. The TNI leadership is always
committed to efforts to enforce the law.
How long would it take for the TNI's young generation to be
committed to the reform goals of having a professional TNI that
is only engaged in defense of the country?

The preparation of TNI's Army personnel is based on the
existing pattern to prepare soldiers to respond to challenges.
This is done through education and training which takes into
consideration each development in its surroundings, to anticipate
necessary capabilities required of each soldier.

The biggest investment which will influence the quality of
TNI's performance is human resource development ...

So it is important to get an accurate analysis of the kind of
TNI that we want and to accommodate this in the curricula. This
takes time and if we design the curricula in a wrong way we will
feel the effects in the future.

The period for a (student) to graduate (from military
education) and to reach a position as a mid-ranking officer to be
able to influence policy of the TNI command could take 15 years.

Fears of eroding influence seem to be reflected in officers'
statements on Aceh, which give the impression of mistrust in the
current implementation of the peace pact mediated by the Henry
Dunant Centre. Your comment?

A review of the role of the TNI in the Aceh case must refer to
the statement of the TNI Commander (Gen. Endriartono Sutarto) who
said that TNI carries out the political decisions made by the
political authority; however, the TNI can provide suggestions and
give input to policy makers about its role and assignment.

Then what is absolutely necessary is to ensure (TNI's)
readiness whenever it must do its task entrusted by the people,
through a political decision.

If there is the impression that cooperation is not going quite
smoothly among various institutions, this is a logical
consequence from this transitional period, in which we are making
functional institutions effective in the restructuring of the
role and function of each institution ...
But if this phase in Aceh fails, wouldn't we have to expect even
more foreign assistance?

The impression that the above cooperation is not going
smoothly is still subject to management by the government, which
can be improved at any time. And each development in resolving
the Aceh issue will first and foremost be dealt with by the
political authorities to determine who does what, in accordance
with our Constitution.

The functional institutions would then carry out that
(decision) such as the foreign affairs ministry regarding
diplomacy, the local administration regarding its functions and
the police regarding law enforcement and security, and also the
TNI will continue its role of supporting the civilian authority
in its required role and function.
So you see such problems as basically a management issue?

We still have much political resources to respond to our
national dynamics. The measures taken by TNI are based on
decisions of the political authority. This means that it is hard
to imagine a scenario where the TNI is needed to directly act and
make political decisions. So the TNI does not need to directly
take political measures.
Do you sense that there are doubts on the part of the political
authority regarding TNI's position?

In any transition to a democracy in any place, functional
institutions are in a process of becoming effective; because they
were never given a chance and were thus untrained to do so in the
past.

However, there is no choice but to build this effectiveness,
and we must support all efforts towards that purpose, so we can
quickly overcome this transition and build a mature democratic
structure.
What if we are unable to do this in a timely manner?

As more time passes, the costs will increase.