Politicians courting military criticized

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Experts have lashed out at civilian politicians who are seeking to link up with military figures in the upcoming direct presidential election, only six years after they embarked on a reform movement aimed at putting civilians back in command.

Military analyst Ikrar Nusa Bakti of the National Institute of Science (LIPI) said the politicians favored military officers, whether active or retired, with the hope of winning loyalty from the military institution.

"Many politicians think they will be able to govern the country effectively, free of security disturbances, if they team up with the military.

"Frankly, such thinking is incompatible with democracy, as the military is not used to making decisions in a democratic way. The military tend to put results ahead of the process," Ikrar said.

He suggested that politicians learn from the past, where the presence of the military in Indonesia's political system had only hampered democratization.

While the direct presidential election has been cited as one of the most prominent outcomes of the reform movement, civilian politicians have been desperately seeking figures with a military background as either presidential or vice presidential candidates.

Golkar patron Jusuf Kalla has agreed to contest the July 5 election as the running mate of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a retired four-star Army general who cofounded the Democratic Party. Kalla, who resigned as coordinating minister for people's welfare, will represent himself, not his party.

Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) leader Megawati Soekarnoputri, National Mandate Party (PAN) leader Amien Rais and Golkar Party leader Akbar Tandjung have reportedly offered Indonesian Military (TNI) Chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto the vice presidency if they win the presidency.

Endriartono, however, has turned down the offer.

"The TNI chief has met separately with representatives of the parties several times and held talks with them. Of course, the TNI chief opened the door for these guests, but the meetings did not result in any commitment," TNI spokesman Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said.

"The TNI chief does not have any intention of getting involved in politics and will continue to maintain neutrality."

Amien is now eying another retired general, Gen. (ret) Agum Gumelar.

Agum, who confirmed that he had met with Amien a few weeks ago, but claimed that the encounter was just "a get-together", has expressed his readiness to be a running mate of any presidential candidate.

Rights campaigner Munir joined in criticizing civilian politicians who assume that joining forces with military figures would provide security for the country.

"Many may say the country has faced security problems since we entered the reform era and politicians think the military's presence will bring security back to the country.

"Rather than providing security, the military, whether the institution or individuals, will only pave the way for the military to return to politics -- something that we all fought against for the sake of reform," Munir, cofounder of the National Commission for Missing Person and Victims of Violence (Kontras), said.

In order to bring the reform spirit back on track, Munir suggested that politicians convey their political platform once they pick a military man as their partner.

"They must make it clear that their military partners have a clear defense strategy, so that the public will not be buying a cat in a sack (something of unknown quality)" he said.