The new underdog: The TNI

The new underdog: The TNI

By Dewi Anggraeni

MELBOURNE (JP): Since discussing the future of Indonesia
without focussing on the role of the military would be a futile
exercise, the "Rethinking Indonesia" conference last weekend in
Melbourne, took a serious look at the issue.

Under the New Order government, power was very much weighted
against the civilian sector and in favor of the military. Now, in
the brief period since coming into power, President Abdurrahman
Wahid already has made inroads into reclaiming the balance for
civilians. At least that is how it appears.

Under Soeharto the military, then known as ABRI, presented a
united front. Even though factions developed under former
president B.J. Habibie, Damien Kingsbury of Monash Asia Institute
suggests the military remained strong.

Kingsbury gave as illustration its actions in East Timor
against the explicit wishes of Habibie. However, under
Abdurrahman this strength has been significantly reduced and the
military (now TNI) is unable, even, to wear a united front.

Kingsbury has observed several factions emerging, one of those
being still loyal to former TNI commander Gen. Wiranto. And a
counter faction, consolidating under the patronage of
Abdurrahman. A significant group which Kingsbury considers as
"reformist" is led by Maj. Gen. Agus Wirahadikusumah. Its primary
task being to end TNI's "territorial" function. A smaller faction
remains loyal to Prabowo, the former commander of the army's
special forces.

The success of the reformist group, Kingsbury theorizes, will
very much depend on the success of Abdurrahman's presidency -- a
risky symbiotic relationship.

If the president can negotiate peaceful settlements to the
civil unrest in various areas of the country, the "reformist"
group will have a better chance of success.

If Abdurrahman fails, both he and this TNI faction will lose a
great deal of credibility, and the path towards democracy will be
even rockier.

The extent of the military's new weakening is unclear. The
military in Indonesia is an institution inseparable from the
country's politics.

Munir, from the Legal Aid Institute, told the conference, that
since 1966 the armed forces have instituted a military structure
in Indonesian society, making it ingrained and extremely
difficult to uproot. The country has a military officer holding
an important position in every level of government.

In a separate interview with The Jakarta Post, Munir admitted
that the ubiquity of the military was a serious problem, but he
does not see the military's power as an insurmountable obstacle
in achieving democracy.

The biggest stumbling block, in his opinion, is the military's
domination over national politics.

The military still influences the thinking of the public, and
this creates an influence against the democratic process being
pushed by reformist elements in society.

"This is a new strength that TNI has gained," Munir said, "TNI
no longer needs to rely on physical power, because they now
possess power similar to that of a political party, with a
significant base.

"They use this to contain, even counter, the social forces
attacking them. Now they no longer have to fight alone, those who
are pushing for their return to the barracks," he said.

"They have even created a new vocabulary as protective
padding. For instance, the word 'to condemn' (menghujat) is now
used to describe any action opposing them."

"Any members of TNI who are criticized for violations of human
rights have now gained the title of the 'underdog' or the
'downtrodden'. So there is a strong message that society at
present is victimizing the military. This insinuation has been
made so insidious that many in civil society become emotionally
trapped in it."

The military has also established a concept, according to
Munir, that they are an important element of society, so if they
are weakened, the society will be adversely affected, because
security is no longer guaranteed.

Another sensitive aspect being exploited is religion. military
members try to attach themselves to Islam, to the extent that
some people believe that attacking the military is tantamount to
attacking Islam. This is a very powerful tool in influencing the
civilian community.

Munir suspects that no more than 5 percent of the population
believe this. "However, they are a high-profile minority who can
manipulate the wider community by 'tailoring' information they
release. Those in the community receiving the information,
without the capacity for critical analysis, tend to take it at
face value.

"Examples are the people defending Wiranto against the
Commission Investigating Violations of Human Rights (KPP HAM),
charging him with human rights violations in East Timor. They
were no more than 20. Yet they were given generous coverage by
the media and they used it well. Viewers with no mechanism to
validate the information got the impression that the 20 people
spoke the truth, that there was a conspiracy against Muslim
generals."

Despite all this, Munir is optimistic that groups working to
keep the military from returning to full political power are
fairly strong in society. In addition, there is the international
element, who will not let that happen. In fact, this element,
observed Munir, played a very important role in the real politik
of 1998, compared to that played by internal forces.

Since then, the drive for change in the country has gathered
strength and speed, and is no longer a force the military can
take lightly.

Hope abounds, and expectations that Abdurrahman's ability to
harness the military's power for more appropriate use, are also
high. The light at the end of the tunnel may be visible, but the
distance is still great.

The writer is a freelance journalist based in Melbourne.