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)