No rift in the military

Recent political developments show a continuous focus on the role of the Indonesian military (TNI) from the New Order regime to the current reform era. The criticism is not always accompanied by wisdom. Instead there is a lot of cynicism and suspicion, making the role of the TNI in society problematic.

It can be seen from various aspersions and invectives directed at their role, the lack of trust in the new paradigm of the TNI that has implemented an internal reform. The criticism further dwells on the legitimacy of the TNI in the House of Representatives (DPR) and the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), mainly with regard to the 38 voting rights allotted to the TNI in the presidential election in the MPR General Session in 1999.

The reactualization, the repositioning and the redefinition of the TNI during the reform era are considered only half-hearted. In my opinion this is not the case because the reform conducted by the TNI is not immediate and integral but gradual and in phases. This is not sufficiently understood by many sides.

Apparently the efforts to shake the TNI do not stop there. Rumors circulate that upheavals are taking place among senior officers in the TNI in fighting for strategic positions in the Army. One rumor difficult to grasp and doubtful is that the TNI's territorial chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Soesilo Bambang Yudhoyono, is annoyed with Gen. Wiranto for not appointing Yudhoyono army chief of staff, and that he made several political moves to try to gain the position.

The rumors on the upheaval among senior TNI officers has in my opinion a certain objective, i.e., mainly to shake the TNI and to sow discord that will lead to a rift in the military. If that happens the TNI's credibility will slide further in the community's eyes and the TNI will play an increasingly small role in politics in the future. That strategy will possibly be implemented because it is seen as the most effective to eliminate the TNI's role.

I am convinced that the rumored upheaval within the TNI are only imagined and not based on facts. The principle of loyalty of the staff to the superior within the TNI makes it the only organization that is the most compact and solid in Indonesia.

RAHMAT SUDEWO

Jakarta