'No outside influence to TNI reshuffle'

'No outside influence to TNI reshuffle'

A document called Bulak Rantai, which refers to the meeting
place of senior Army officers, has circulated ahead of a rumored
major military reshuffle speculating the replacement of some
prominent officers. Military observer Lt. Gen. (ret) Hasnan Habib
gives his views on the dissemination of the document.

Question: Do you believe that the document was issued by
military men and civilian officials who attended meetings hosted
by the chief of Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) Lt.
Gen. Agus Wirahadikusumah at his Bulak Rantai residence?

Hasnan: I'm inclined to disbelieve it because any document on
the minutes of a military meeting must be treated as very secret,
while Agus is too intelligent to be that sloppy in allowing such
a document to be read by the public.

Q: Who do you think issued the document which was read out at a
recent hearing of TNI officers with the House of Representatives?

H: Surely, it is impossible for Agus to have done it. He would
have been cornered by his colleagues if he had prepared the
document which indicated his ambitions.

It might have been issued by outsiders, probably military
retirees, who want to play Agus against former Kostrad chief Lt.
Gen. Djadja Suparman, or who do not want TNI to lift its policy
on the dual (military-sociopolitical) function. We know that Agus
is one of the advocates of military reform, while some military
retirees, who consider the dual function policy as the seed of
TNI, have expressed their concern over the plan to abolish the
policy.

Q: Do you believe that the plan to lift the dual function policy
is supported by TNI officers?

H: I have a feeling that most of TNI's senior officers have
approved the plan and are committed to it. A strong indication
for that is the report from TNI chief Adm. Widodo A.S. to
President Abdurrahman Wahid which outlined that military leaders
agreed in their meeting in April on the abolition of the dual
function policy. However, Widodo did not spell out a time frame
for it or the steps for abolishing the policy.

Q: Do you see military officers unified in a way to eliminate the
military's dual function practices?

H: They are divided into different groups.

One group wants the military to end all of its sociopolitical
practices. According to this group, any military personnel who
are still occupying nonmilitary positions, therefore, must quit
TNI through early retirement or else they must leave their
positions.

Another group wants the military to shun day-to-day political
practices, including the representation of its personnel to the
House of Representatives (DPR), but to sustain its
representatives at the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR),
which is not involved in political activities.

Another group wants TNI to shun not only political practices
but also business activities. Political activities, according to
this group, have diverted the military's attention, while
business ethics are contradictory to military ethics.

There is another group of officers who want the military to
shun political practices without having to lift rulings on the
dual function. The rulings should not be lifted to allow the
country to reintroduce the military's dual function whenever it
is considered necessary.

All in all, I can say that most TNI officers want military
personnel to improve professionalism. But this will be a long
process that will take some 10 years. All parties, therefore,
must be patient because the military personnel, on one hand, have
to adapt to reform policies; while civilian officials must reform
by improving their administrative capability, avoiding corrupt,
collusive and nepotistic (KKN) practices and ending their habit
of looking for political support from the military -- like the
involvement of four active military personnel in the Cabinet.

Q: Do you think that the dissemination of copies of the Bulak
Rantai document will not influence the planned tour of duty?

H: No. I believe that the planned tours of duty will be based on
standard procedures for the promotion and rotation of officers.
Some senior officers will be promoted to new positions, while
others will begin retirement. The promotion will be enjoyed by
those officers who have improved their leadership capabilities
and political reliability.

Q: Some say the rumored plans of tours of duty have been
influenced by outsiders, including civilian officials ...

H: Some outsiders may try to influence such plans by feeding
information to the personnel officer. But if all members of the
TNI council for high-ranking promotions and duty rotations
(Wanjakti) participate in the council's meeting, usually led by
TNI's chief, decisions cannot be based merely on that information
because all the participants will use professional considerations
in their arguments.

Wanjakti's decision, however, can be influenced only by a
written instruction from the President -- like what happened with
the government under former president Soeharto. But I don't think
President Abdurrahman Wahid would write such an instruction.

Q: Do you think that the rumored major shake-up will help TNI
improve its consolidation?

H: That is a must. If it shows that it does not improve
consolidation, the council will lose its credibility. (Rikza
Abdullah)