Public 'don't buy TNI reform claims'

Public 'don't buy TNI reform claims'

JAKARTA (JP): In spite of major internal changes in the
Indonesian Military (TNI) over the last two years, many people
still perceive civil-military relations in Indonesia as virtually
unchanged, according to research published on Saturday.

The public still widely perceived these changes as "half-
hearted" measures in response to external pressures rather than
conscious efforts to improve the professionalism of the military,
the Research Institute for Democracy and Peace said.

One outstanding issue that has not been addressed by the
reforms is the existence of the territorial command structure
through which the military in the past exercised its political
role, according to the study, which was also sponsored by
Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES).

The institute held a round table discussion on Saturday on the
research it had just completed on civil-military relations. The
research took the Udayana Military Command, which oversees Bali,
and East and West Nusatenggara, as its case study.

"From the civilian side, the most extreme demand is the
abolition of these territorial commands. In popular political
terms, "soldiers must return to the barracks", the study said.

The TNI's failure to clarify what it intends to do with the
territorial commands has further raised suspicions among the
public about the military's real intentions.

The group noted that the TNI leadership was divided on the
issue, with one camp insisting that these commands be retained as
they are, another proposing to revamp them, and yet another
proposing their complete abolition.

"This attitude of buying time, that of avoiding giving answers
to the public, is not only prolonging the problem, but it is also
sowing internal divisions that could potentially turn into a
major conflict," it said.

The Army's huge and complex network of territorial commands
ensures its omnipresence throughout the archipelago right down to
the village level. It runs from the Kodam (regional/provincial)
level, through the Kodim (district), and Korem (subdistrict)
levels down to the Koramil (village) level.

In the recent past, the chiefs of these commands wielded much
more political power than civilian rulers like governors, and
district and village chiefs.

The six members of the study team were M. Riefqi Muna,
Hermawan Sulistyo, Moch. Nurhasim and Sri Nuryanti of the
Indonesian Sciences Institutes (LIPI), Arbi Sanit of the
University of Indonesia and Kusnanto Anggoro of the Centre for
Strategic and International Studies.

Present at the discussion on Saturday were a number of members
of the TNI's top brass, including TNI Chief of Territorial
Affairs Lt. Gen. Agus Widjojo and Udayana Military Command chief
Maj. Gen. Kiki Syahnakri.

Agus commented that in spite of the criticisms, TNI had moved
well ahead of civilian political institutions in conducting
sweeping internal reforms.

The researchers also acknowledged that TNI had conducted major
reforms, from the change of its name from the previous Indonesian
Armed Forces (ABRI) and the separation of the police from the
military, each with clearly defined tasks, to its withdrawal from
the political arena, the introduction of a new doctrine or
paradigm and the incorporation of human rights as a subject in
its training curriculum.

The study cautioned against the claim that TNI had pulled out
"100 percent" from the political arena, noting that it still has
representation in the regional legislative councils and will also
remain in the People's Consultative Assembly, which elects the
president, until 2009.

It also noted that the tradition of esprit de corps remained
strong in the military to the point where the entire corps would
shield errant officers from legal prosecution.

According to the study, the biggest challenge in reforming the
TNI was to change its culture, and this was also the main reason
why the public felt that the military had scarcely changed, the
study said.

"People in the military are often frustrated because in spite
of their maximum efforts, they are not getting an appropriate
response," the study said.

The researchers suggested that TNI, particularly the Army,
open itself to outside reform initiatives, including criticism,
even if it bordered on condemnation. "That (condemnation) should
be considered as input in designing changes to answer the
challenges of time," the study said. (02/emb)