The TNI at 56
The TNI at 56
Today 56 years ago, president Sukarno issued a decree to set
up an official armed organization as an integer component of the
then-infant Republic of Indonesia. This organization, through
various stages, later developed into what is now known as the
Tentara National Indonesia (TNI) -- the national armed forces of
Indonesia. At the time the decree was issued, various armed
organizations already existed in the Indonesian community in
Sumatra, Java, Bali and South Sulawesi, responding to the
Proclamation of Independence on Aug. 17, 1945. To forge these
various organizations -- formed sometimes on the basis of
ideological underpinnings or as extensions of existing political
parties -- into a cohesive national army was not an easy process.
It occasionally gave rise to political crises.
Throughout its history, the TNI experienced various stages of
readjustment and reorganization in order to find its rightful
position in a changing society that is also searching for its
right political format. If today the TNI, in commemorating its
56th anniversary, is displaying such an impressive show it can
look back on the fact that since Oct. 5 last year it has
responded to a historical challenge in the correct manner. The
TNI, particularly the Army, resisted president Abdurrahman
Wahid's undemocratic intention to issue an emergency decree in
order to preserve his power. However, lest the TNI should indulge
in too much self-praise, the fact must also be admitted that in
the past it committed a number of offenses that included some
serious violations of human rights and of the 1945 Constitution.
As former minister of defense Juwono Sudarsono pointed out
recently, the fundamental problem the TNI is facing is that only
30 percent of total military expenditure is covered by the state
budget. The rest is derived from off-state budget activities,
particularly through the myriad foundations related to the three
services and the various units within those services. Obviously,
this is not a healthy situation. If, as Prof. Sudarsono
suggested, a 10-year plan were to be prepared in order to
gradually increase the state budget allocation for the TNI while
simultaneously decreasing the off-budget funding, that would be
to assume, as he admitted, a constant robust growth of gross
national product (GNP) -- a proposition that cannot be
guaranteed.
Another crucial challenge faced by the TNI is to formulate its
role and mission in a democratic Indonesia. Various internal
discussions apparently have been held within the TNI, and Lt.
Gen. Agus Wijaya, the TNI chief of staff for territorial affairs,
has presented this reform program to the public on various
occasions. However, as was recently suggested in a seminar on
security cooperation between Indonesia and Britain in Jakarta,
perhaps a nationwide consultation could be organized in seeking
ideas and proposals on how to transform the TNI into an integer
part of a democratic Republic of Indonesia. It was pointed out
that Britain had gone through the same process when its armed
forces were being reorganized. It was a process of mutual benefit
since the public too was educated on the characteristics and
political needs of its military organization.
In short, the TNI, as it celebrates its 56th anniversary on
Friday, should be aware that it cannot rest on its laurels but
has to tackle the challenges it faces as indicated above in an
urgent manner. Failure to do this and to satisfy the expectations
of the public -- that its national military organization should
be a disciplined force upholding democratic principles -- would
unavoidably cause crises that would affect the sociopolitical
stability of this sprawling archipelagic state.