'TNI led by antireformists'

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The persistence of the Indonesian Military (TNI)'s leaders in defending a bill that could allow the institution to regain its power reflects their failure to comply with the reform movement, analysts have concluded.

Military observer Rizal Sukma of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said on Friday that both the government and the House of Representatives should oppose the bill as it could jeopardize the efforts to uphold democracy and civil society.

He also asked the public to learn from the past, when the military had abused the power awarded by the state, without any control being exercised by civilians.

"There are two critical points that determine whether or not the military complies with the reform process, namely their acceptance of civilian supremacy and civilian control," Rizal told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

He was commenting on remarks by TNI commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, who said on Thursday that an armed forces' commander could deploy troops in an emergency without having to seek approval from the president. He contended that this power was necessary should the president, vice president or a triumvirate of the home minister, foreign minister and defense minister not be available.

Last week, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu had asked for more power in the handling of domestic security. He voiced his request after meeting with 250 active and retired senior Army officers.

People's Consultative Assembly Decree No. 7/2000 stipulates that the TNI serves as a defense force, while internal security is the responsibility of the National Police.

Separately, Mochtar Pabottingi of the National Institute of Sciences (LIPI) called on the public to reject the military bill.

"The institution has lost its credibility. For many years it created conflict across the nation in a bid to serve the authoritarian regime of the New Order," he said.

"The military could no longer claim to be the guardian of the state because it was responsible for almost all of the disturbances in the country. The reform era demanded that the military change, but it has failed to do so," Mochtar told the Post.

Many believe that the Army is playing a prominent role in the promotion of the controversial military bill. Article 19 of the bill gives authority to the TNI commander to deploy troops to strife-torn regions without the prior approval of the president. The TNI would only have to report to the president within 24 hours after such a deployment.

Legislator Hajriyanto Y. Tohari joined the chorus of criticism against the controversial article.

"A decision to declare a state of emergency is very subjective. It depends on various interests. Therefore, it must be the president who holds the power to declare a state of emergency after consulting with the House," he said.

"The involvement of the president and the House will improve the checks and balances mechanism."

Hajriyanto likened the declaration of an emergency to the appointment of a TNI chief or the issuance of a government regulation in lieu of law, both of which required the approval of the House.

Responding to a promise by Endriartono that the military would not abuse its power, Hajriyanto simply said: "That's only a promise".

Bowing to the intense opposition to the controversial bill, Endriartono said that there was always the possibility that it could be revised during its deliberation by legislators.

"Specific details and arrangements to ensure that the TNI will not abuse its powers can be set out and determined during the deliberations," said Endriartono after receiving the Bintang Jasa Utama award from President Megawati Soekarnoputri at the Merdeka Palace on Friday.

He underlined that the main objective of the bill was to set up rules for the TNI in the exercise of its role as a defense force.

A similar view was expressed by National Intelligence Agency (BIN) director Hendropriyono, who said that the bill was subject to amendment. Hendropriyono is a retired lieutenant general, who spent most of his military service in the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus).

"We are not forcing things so that the bill must be approved as it is. Further discussion is required before its deliberation in the House," said Hendropriyono to the press.

Rizal nevertheless said that even if the military was ready to revise the offending article, "we should not forget that the military has once again tried to regain its dangerous powers".