RI to have democracy in 25 years time
RI to have democracy in 25 years time
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia needs both a strong administration and the full support of the Armed Forces (ABRI) in its quest for democracy, an observer said on Saturday.
German-born philosopher Franz Magnis Suseno said that Indonesia will probably achieve democracy in 25 years time, provided that the existing system comes to operate better and that ABRI maintains its social and political roles.
In a discussion of his book 'Mencari Sosok Demokrasi' (Seeking for Democracy), Magnis placed a great deal of weight on the "neutral" involvement of ABRI for Indonesia to become a democratic state.
"We won't be able to establish a strong democratic state as long as ABRI is disgruntled," he told students attending the discussion. "Democratization needs the full support of ABRI," he added.
Magnis said he believed that democratization would take place if a number of institutions functioned well. Both the House of Representatives and the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) would have to become stronger, he said.
In addition, "we need a strong government and a strong President", he said. "We need a government which can't be easily toppled. We need a government which can carry out its plans and programs."
He said that what is even more important is a mechanism which enables full supervision and accountability. "We need all those institutions to function well, which they are not at present," he said.
"MPR has yet to really hold the President accountable for his duties," he said. The five-yearly MPR session in which the President gives an account of his official activities is still a mere formality, he said.
Neutrality
Magnis said he supported the planned reduction of the military's automatic representation in the legislature -- from the current 100 to 75 after the 1997 general elections. But he added that the move was not "on the top of my wish list."
Instead, he said, ABRI's support for political groupings should be reduced. ABRI should return to its ideal stance of neutrality, he said.
"ABRI supports the state ideology Pancasila, doesn't it? So do the existing political groupings," he said, referring to the dominant Golkar, the nationalist Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) and the Moslem-based United Development Party (PPP). "Then none of the three should receive special treatment from ABRI."
Magnis said that, since the 1950s, the social and political roles of ABRI have been steadily increasing. Under the New Order administration, those roles have become dominant, he argued.
Given the close links between the New Order administration and ABRI, it is understandable that the "dual function" of ABRI has become a major point of discussion in relation to democratization, he said.
The "dual function" doctrine dictates that ABRI plays social and political roles in addition to its roles in security and defense.
"In our efforts to establish democracy, we are still going to need ABRI to play its roles, even in another 25 years," he said.
With the next general election only two years away, there has been a renewed debate about how far the military should support Golkar. Many political analysts believe that ABRI should maintain a distance from the ruling political group.
A number of ABRI leaders, including Maj. Gen. Syarwan Hamid, the assistant to ABRI's chief of social and political affairs, have recently affirmed the military's support for Golkar.
Syarwan has said that, as a social and political force, ABRI cannot be neutral. It has to choose a partner -- Golkar, as it happens -- with whom it can reach its ideals, he said.
Saturday's discussion also featured human rights campaigner Saafroedin Bahar and student activist Hilmar Farid. Members of student groups, such as the youth wing of Indonesia's largest Moslem organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, and the nationalist GMNI student movement, attended the discussion. (swe)