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)