Seats for ABRI in the legislature?

Seats for ABRI in the legislature?

The Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) has been carrying out the
historical role of guarding the constitutional Indonesian state
for more than 50 years. During this service, ABRI developed its
(dual function) doctrine, which, though not unique, may be called
distinctive. ABRI has provided justifications and assumed a
sociopolitical function.

Many countries in Latin America and Africa, as well as a
number of countries in Asia have also assigned a sociopolitical
role to their armed forces. Each country has its own
justification for doing so. However, with the progress of
modernization and socioeconomic conditions, those countries have,
one after another, gradually willingly relaxed, and eventually
abandoned, the political role of their armed forces. Chile,
Argentina, Mexico, in the past, Brazil and some other banana
republics have abandoned that system and learned to live more
democratically, conforming to universally accepted norms of
constitutional life.

This repudiation of the military's dominant political role
normally occurred after the armed forces showed a willingness to
learn from the excesses that arose from the actual execution of
its sociopolitical role. In those countries, the disadvantages
involved proved to be greater than the benefits. Human rights
violations committed by security officers tarnished the dignity
and the good standing of soldiers who merely followed orders
under strict military discipline. As it often turned out, orders
were frequently carried out with excessive brutality.

It has been said that this dwifungsi (dual function) concept
was born because ABRI could no longer tolerate the endless
political bickering and the disarray that this caused here. In
the 1980s, the ABRI leadership said it would go "back to basics",
which gave the impression that it felt that ABRI's expanding
(sociopolitical) role over the past 20 years since its inception
was impairing the military's function as guardian of the people.

Now, in this era of reformation, the people are justified in
expecting that their guardian will be disposed enough to ask: Is
it necessary for ABRI to insist on getting 50 seats in the House
of Representatives?

-- Republika, Jakarta