'TNI led by antireformists'

'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".