TNI officers want end to dual function

TNI officers want end to dual function

JAKARTA (JP): A number of high-ranking Indonesian Military
(TNI) officers said on Tuesday the doctrine which gave the
military its pervasive power prevented the institution from
improving its professionalism.

The military's assistant for general planning, Maj. Gen. Agus
Wirahadikusumah, said the dwifungsi doctrine was "a bastard whose
birth could not be prevented". Dwifungsi is the doctrine which
established TNI's dual sociopolitical role.

During the launch of a book on the TNI by Agus and 16 other
active officers, he said that initially it was necessary for TNI
officers to take positions outside the military's traditional
function of defense.

He said when the Dutch left Indonesia there was a void in
businesses and the administration. "It was to be temporary, but
instead it became institutionalized; officers grew to enjoy their
positions."

Agus also urged new TNI Commander Adm. Widodo A.S. to purge
the military's leadership of officers unworthy of their
positions. The failure to accomplish this would make needed
institutional reforms impossible and TNI would continue to suffer
from "weird" actions by its officers, he said.

All of the authors of the book, Indonesia Baru dan Tantangan
TNI (The New Indonesia and TNI's Challenge), graduated from the
military academy in 1973.

One of the authors, Brig. Gen. Saurip Kadi, a special
investigator at the Ministry of Defense and Security, said at the
launch that ending dwifungsi "was the only way to put an end to
the deviation of commands".

"Our forefathers never taught us to shoot real bullets at our
own people," he said, adding that now was the time for TNI to
repair itself.

Political analyst Marsilam Simandjuntak, who attended the
launch, said the book was "astonishing". He marveled at the
"unconventional" occurrence of military officers expressing
opinions which likely differed from those of their commanders,
questioning if the book could lead to confrontation among
officers or even "a bloodless coup", which would be more "normal"
for the military than change through intellectual discourse.

Marsilam said he believed the authors were brave enough to
face the consequences of their book.

Agus said this was not the first such book written by military
officers.

"Last December we published ABRI: Profesionalisme dan Dedikasi
(ABRI: Professionalism and Dedication). Unfortunately, at that
time it could not be made public," he said, adding that a forum
at the Army Staff Command School which he established in 1992
contributed to discourse among officers.

Visiting military observer Harold Crouch said he found the
officers' views "extraordinary", but joined others in the
audience in questioning the number and influence of "reformist"
officers.

Agus assured the audience that reformist officers were "spread
everywhere". The idea of reform no longer frightens officers,
which is a break from the past when expressing such views could
have led to charges of being anti-Pancasila or liberal, he said,
adding that reform within TNI "could not be imagined" without the
student movement.

A source at Indonesian Military Headquarters told The Jakarta
Post former military commander Gen. Wiranto was encouraging when
presented with a copy of the book. "He said he hoped to see more
such books coming from TNI," the source said.

The 17 authors include military police commander Maj. Gen.
Djasri Marin, Brawijaya Military Commander Maj. Gen. Ryamizard
Ryacudu and Col. Cornel Simbolon, the military commander of the
Garuda Hitam district in Lampung, South Sumatra.

The book, published by Sinar Harapan, was criticized by
speakers at the launch for not addressing the issue of the
military's business interests.

Another speaker, Mahrus Irsyam, said the gap between the
authors' aspirations and reality was evident from the inclusion
of TNI members in President Abdurrahman Wahid's Cabinet.

At the event, jointly organized by the University of
Indonesia's Department of Social and Political Studies, Crouch
doubted the TNI structures which supported the military's
territorial concept -- the noncommissioned officers at the
village level and the district to provincial military commands --
could be abolished within five to six years, as suggested earlier
by leading politicians.

"As long as the territorial structures exist the military will
continue to be in politics," he said.

Agus agreed reforming the military would take time, but said
that much had already been achieved. He said the relatively
smooth elections were one such achievement "because the military
didn't do anything unbecoming".

He said this was in part due to the efforts of officers prior
to the elections, adding that at the time he was assigned to 12
provinces where he told 800 officers that everything had changed
and that "the military was neutral".

Agus said the most difficult part of reforming the military
was for officers to unlearn all they had been taught early in
their careers. "It is very hard to change habits."

"We need continued input from the public," he said. (anr)