Scrap TNI's free seats now, say observer

Scrap TNI's free seats now, say observer

Muhammad Nafik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Noted military observers urged civilian politicians on Monday to
scrap the free seats accorded to the Indonesian military (TNI)
and police in the legislature immediately regardless of the two
organization's readiness to be entrusted with the franchise.

"There are no more reasons now for the military to have free
seats in the legislature," military observer Hasnan Habib said.

Hasnan, a three-star Army general (retired), said that whether
or not TNI or police were ready to use their voting rights in
2004, it was their internal problems that they had to deal with.

"The civilian politicians should not push and pull the
military and police into low, high and practical politics,"
Hasnan said without elaborating.

"Like other citizens, soldiers and civil servants are entitled
to the franchise," he stressed.

The issue of the TNI and police's voting rights surfaced
earlier this month after the Ministry of Home Affairs submitted
the new election bill allowing TNI and police personnel to
exercise their rights to vote and be elected. If endorsed, the
bill would put an end to the military and police's free seats in
the legislature, where they currently have 38 seats.

The bill, however, contradicts MPR Decree No. VII/2000, which
retains the presence of the TNI and police in the House of
Representatives (DPR) until 2004 and the People's Consultative
Assembly (MPR) until 2009.

TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said last week that
military personnel would not use their voting rights in the next
election, claiming that soldiers were not yet prepared to ensure
political neutrality.

Kusnanto Anggoro, a military observer from the Centre for
Stretegic and International Studies (CSIS), concurred with
Hasnan, saying members of the national political elite should not
extend the presence of the TNI and police in the House and MPR.

"The political parties should firmly reject the presence of
the TNI and the police in the legislative bodies, even if they do
not exercise their voting rights," he said.

J. Kristiadi, also from the CSIS, said it was "understandable"
if the TNI would temporarily refrain from using its voting rights
due to the nation's trauma over the military's powerful political
role during the 32 years of former president Soeharto's
dictatorial regime.

But after 2009, soldiers would have no more reason not to vote
in elections as they would have to be professional in
differentiating between their state duties and political rights,
he added.

Kristiadi also dismissed claims that the military would become
fragmented into political groupings if allowed to vote, saying
"this is a misleading argument."

He claimed that past experience proved that the military
remained solid in the 1955 election despite soldiers having the
right to vote.

Hasnan and Kristiadi urged the TNI to reject any free seats
that might be offered to them by the House or the People's
Consultative Assembly (MPR).

"If the TNI really wants to be sincerely neutral and stay away
from politics, it must be courageous enough to reject such an
offer and instead focus on improving its professionalism," Hasnan
said.

Kusnanto also called for a special ruling to prevent
servicemen from siding with certain parties in elections.

Meanwhile, political observer Fachry Ali blasted the move to
allow the military to vote and to be elected in the 2004
election.

"Only in the countries whose systems of democracy are already
well-established is the granting of voting rights to the military
appropriate," he said.

Fachry argued that soldiers were different from ordinary
citizens whose political rights should be guaranteed. "They
actually chose their political stance when they joined the
military, namely impartiality," he said.

He argued that "political infiltration" by soldiers would be
unavoidable should they be given the right to vote. "This would
be dangerous for national stability," he said.