Stop denouncing ABRI?
Stop denouncing ABRI?
Retired Gen. Try Sutrisno, in his capacity as general chairman
of the Association of Retired Members of the Armed Forces of the
Republic of Indonesia (Pepabri) has made a statement on
television calling on the Indonesian people to stop denouncing
the Armed Forces of the Republic of Indonesia (ABRI).
It must be difficult for the people not to denounce ABRI
because under the Soeharto and Habibie regimes ABRI has committed
grave errors, thus hurting the people's hearts. ABRI has failed
to protect the people as evidenced in the following incidents:
the Tanjung Priok incident (Try Sutrisno was at the time the
responsible regional military commander of Jakarta), the
incidents in Lampung, Dili, Aceh and Irian Jaya, the July 26,
1996 tragedy, the Trisakti tragedy on May 12, 1998, the
rioting/looting/arson/gang rapine in Jakarta and Solo on May 13
and 14, 1998, the massacre of those alleged to be black magic
practitioners in Banyuwangi, the Semanggi tragedy on November 13,
1998 and the Ketapang incident in Jakarta on November 20, 1998 in
which a number of churches and schools were set on fire and
destroyed. Obviously ABRI has failed to perform its function as a
defense and security instrument to protect the Indonesian people
and fatherland. Many of the above cases have even been
orchestrated by ABRI itself.
Under the Soeharto and Habibie regimes, ABRI has been made an
instrument for maintaining both the power of the state rulers and
political stability. ABRI has turned itself into an instrument of
the state which acts repressively and is opposed to the people.
Just look at the Semanggi tragedy. How could live bullets be used
to kill the students and the common people? Even after the
Trisakti tragedy, ABRI could still afford to let a similar
tragedy occur. Perhaps all acts committed by ABRI have been
deliberately planned to defend the interests of Soeharto and his
cronies.
The political party which triumphs in the upcoming 1999
general election must have the guts to reject the presence of
ABRI representatives in the House of Representatives. Besides,
ABRI members must also be required to give up their civilian
positions. ABRI must return to its basic function.
SUHARSONO HADIKUSUMO
Jakarta