NU ulemas support civilian control over military

NU ulemas support civilian control over military

MALANG, East Java (JP): A two-day dialog between Nahdlatul
Ulama (NU) Muslim organization and top military officers and
intellectuals concluded on Tuesday with united calls to uphold
civilian supremacy.

"The military's involvement in the bureaucracy must be put to
an end," the organization's deputy chairman Masdar F. Mas'udi
said reading a statement.

Rooting the military out of politics and the bureaucracy has
been the top priority of the reform movement, and civilian
supremacy has been slowly gaining ground since the election of
Abdurrahman Wahid as president in October.

The ulemas also called for the abolishment of all military
territorial commands which in the past had effectively been
misused as a tool to suppress dissidents.

They said they found the military's use of power was still
rampant despite its claim to have carried out internal reform.

Former military chief Gen. (ret) Wiranto, who also spoke on
Tuesday, said the idea to abolish regional military commands
might be accepted, but added that the process could not be
completed overnight.

The President admitted in Hong Kong on Sunday that the country
"still has problems with its Army generals". He quickly added,
however, that the generals were fully under the control of the
government.

"We have two different kind of generals, the first group is
the generals who observe the law and also the civilian authority
and they are the majority ... and there are also a few generals
who believe that the Army's dual function should be retained,"
Abdurrahman told a news briefing after speaking before the Asia
Society.

Gus Dur, as the President is popularly called, suspended
Wiranto as coordinating minister for political affairs and
security in February pending an investigation into his alleged
involvement in last year's violence in East Timor. (nur/byg)