Rebels must be firmly dealt with

Rebels must be firmly dealt with

In the mid-1950s political strife broke out almost all across
Indonesia. This was not a separatist rebellion as the outer
provinces had no intention of separating from the Republic of
Indonesia, which was proclaimed in 1945.

The outer regions were angry because they thought the central
government relied too heavily on the Indonesian Communist Party
under the chairmanship of D.N. Aidit. I see the trouble actually
as a war between the United States and communist China, fought in
Indonesia by Indonesians. The problem became more complex because
the rebel army was part of the Indonesian Military (TNI), led by
experience Army officers who had distinguished themselves in the
war of independence.

Officers like Col. Simbolon from North Sumatra, Col. A. Husein
from West Sumatra, Col. Barlian from South Sumatra, Col.
Kawilarang, Maj. Somba and Maj. Vence Sumual from Sulawesi were
considered good commanders and very experienced. But all of them
had one thing in common, i.e. they all declared their loyalty to
then president Sukarno. They were fighting the government, but
not the president.

Only a small portion of Indonesia remained free from
rebellion, including Java, but the government did not tremble
from fear because the law had to be upheld and that was what the
government did.

Another thing which added to the strength of the rebel Army
was aid from the U.S. in the form of bombers sent to help the
rebels and, according to some reports, the U.S. stationed one
battalion of marines near Indonesia which could be airlifted to
Indonesia.

The Indonesian government acted swiftly and efficiently
without any hesitation against those odds. This was a real
government which knew what to do and when to act and how to
behave and had the courage.

It was not a matter of whether the government agreed or not
with the political aim of the rebellion, but the way the rebels
were trying to achieve their goals was wrong and violated
existing laws. That was reason enough to act.

The situation today also calls for swift action. Rebels,
especially in Aceh, should be dealt with resolutely without any
hesitation because they are violating the law. If the government
does nothing, this will encourage the rebels and the problem will
become more and more complex.

Now the rebels even have the courage to openly challenge the
Army and police to fight an open war. What an insult to the
military and, indirectly, to the government. The rebels are now
making good use of the fact that Indonesians hate the TNI and
National Police, which makes the law enforcers hesitant to take
action, preferring instead to wait for a "political umbrella", as
was expressed by the National Police chief some time ago.

This political umbrella will never come and the police and TNI
have a duty to maintain law and order. They must take tough
measures against rebellious elements which can lead to the
disintegration of the nation. Or are the police and military
afraid of being accused of human rights violations? TNI spokesman
Maj. Gen. Sudradjat said clearly that TNI will completely wipe
out separatism. The unity of Indonesia will be defended, if
necessary with the sacrifice of blood and lives from both the TNI
and the rebels.

SOEGIH ARTO

Jakarta