The military apologizes

The military apologizes

A touching event occurred in Makassar on New Year's Eve. The
Army chief of staff, Gen. Tyasno Sudarto, apologized to the
Indonesian people for past mistakes made by the Indonesian
Military (TNI). "The TNI admits it has made mistakes and is
asking the Indonesian people for their forgiveness. We apologize
for all the mistakes we have made -- consciously or otherwise --
during the New Order period and in the initial days of the
present reform movement," the chief of staff said.

We believe that, this time, the apology that was conveyed by
the Army chief of staff was an expression of genuine regret. A
genuine effort exists to improve the standing of the military,
which has suffered considerably in the eyes of the people.

TNI must now do all it can to rehabilitate its reputation.
Apologizing is one way for it to once again be at peace with the
population from among whom it was born. Any effort to preserve
the notion that TNI cannot do wrong can only be
counterproductive.

A clear position must also be taken with regard to the use of
the word oknum (rogue individuals) within TNI. Oknum should refer
not only to erring lower-ranking members of the military, but to
officers as well. In the present situation, any attempt to
subject generals to questioning or investigation is taken as an
insult to TNI. The Army chief of staff's apology should seek to
correct problems such as these as well.

-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta