People doubt TNI will leave politics

People doubt TNI will leave politics

Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian Military (TNI) may have managed to shed its
image as a fearful institution, but its promise to phase out its
political role is widely doubted, according to a survey.

The survey by the Center for the Study of Development and
Democracy (CESDA) concluded that TNI has managed to improve its
image to win public support.

In the past, both soldiers and their institution were very
much dreaded. But now most people (75 percent) are no longer
afraid of soldiers. A smaller portion of them (14 percent) are
proud of them and only a minority of 7 percent remain scared of
them.

A division of the prestigious Institute for Social and
Economic Research, Education and Information (LP3ES), CESDA
conducted nationwide telepolling on the Role and Image of TNI
in 10 cities: Medan, Palembang, Denpasar, Banjarmasin, Makasssar,
Mataram, Jayapura, Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya.

Conducted from Sept. 25 through Sept. 29, 1,250 respondents of
various backgrounds were polled. The survey has 3 percent margin
of error and 95 percent degree of certainty.

The respondents were at least 17 years old and had a minimum
educational background of high school.

TNI celebrates its 46th anniversary on Friday.

Even though the military's image has significantly improved,
the majority of people surveyed (60 percent) doubted that the
military would honor its promise to phase out its political role.

The military played a dominant role in the authoritarian New
Order regime for 32 years until president Soeharto, a retired
Army general, resigned in 1998.

To prove its commitment to reducing its role on the political
stage, the military has dissolved its sociopolitical affairs
department and reduced its personnel in the House of
Representatives from 100 to 38 (including the police). The
military has promised to completely withdraw its representation
at the House in 2009.

Only 27 percent of respondents are confident that TNI will
honor its promise to reduce its political role, while 13 percent
refused to comment.

E. Shobirin Nadj, CESDA'S deputy director for research, said
the survey was aimed at exploring public opinion because TNI
played an important role in the change of government from
president Abdurrahman Wahid to Megawati Soekarnoputri.

"There is concern that this (role) is a sign of TNI's revival
in politics that may result in repression," Shobirin said on
Tuesday when presenting the survey results.

The survey shows an interesting fact. Thirty-one percent of
those who believe TNI will reduce its role are supporters of the
Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI Perjuangan lead by
Megawati) and thirty-three percent are National Mandate Party
(PAN) supporters.

When asked if TNI had decreased its political role,
respondents were almost evenly divided in their opinion. Forty-
five percent say TNI has reduced its political role while 44
percent say it has not. The rest declined to comment.

Apparently many respondents do not see the cutback of TNI
seats in the House as a main indicator that TNI is retreating
from the political scene, Shobirin said.

Fear of a military revival was evident when President Megawati
appointed four retired military top brass to her Cabinet. Many
considered it as an indication that the President was opening
doors for the military.

However, on this issue, 73 percent of respondents consider the
number of military men in the Cabinet acceptable while only 11
percent say it is too many.

With the military supporting President Megawati, only 47
percent believe she will be able to call to account TNI top brass
for human rights violations while 44 percent say she will not.

Shobirin said a human rights tribunal for TNI members
allegedly involved in human rights abuses would be critical for
President Megawati as the public would be monitoring closely
whether the President could enforce the law.