Where Megawati's loyalties lie

Where Megawati's loyalties lie

By Lesley McCulloch

TASMANIA, Australia (JP): It was with quiet amazement and some
amusement that I read Focusing on reform process of TNI (The
Jakarta Post July 18). While acknowledging the author, Philippe
Raggi's desire to understand the nuances of the political-
military relationship in Indonesia today, I must suggest that his
analysis is wide off the mark.

Yes, it is true that a process of reform has begun. It is also
true that there are various obstacles to this reform process.
These indeed include both the military's budget and economic
interests. There are also other obstacles to reform, such as the
personalities themselves. There are hardliners who would like to
see the reform process stalled. In some ways these people offer
less of an obstacle to real reform in the long run. Their anti-
reform agenda is visible, and they belong on the whole to the old
school, and will become less influential as time passes.

The real obstacles to reform come in the form of, for example,
those mentioned by Raggi -- Lt. Gen. Kiki Syahnakri, Lt. Gen.
Agus Widjojo and Gen. Endriartono Sutarto. All three (and others
like them), have become very good at speaking the language of
reform. Widjojo and Endriartono in particular have become very
impressive speakers. Of course, it is true that they are indeed
pro-reformers. But, we must be aware that the reform process they
support is one where they set both the agenda and the timetable.
In this way their own interests and those upon whose support they
depend will be protected.

To suggest that the "real will of TNI is to disengage itself
from politics" is only partly true. Such skepticism is justified
by the support given to the new President Megawati Soekarnoputri
during the process to impeach Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) by the
military and police. And of significance, the support she
attracted by the hardliners among them.

On Monday, in the closing stages of this impeachment process,
Gus Dur moved to shut down the top legislative body and called
for an early election. In rapid response, armed forces chief Adm.
Widodo Adisucipto accompanied by the chiefs of the army, navy and
airforce, stated that the armed forces opposed the move and would
not implement it. The military is an instrument of the state.
Given that the former head of state was constitutionally elected
-- albeit embattled -- one may be forgiven for thinking that the
military were indeed involving themselves in a highly political
process. The process which ousted Gus Dur should have been
allowed to run its constitutional -- albeit vague and chaotic --
course, without the interference from the armed forces.

The military in politics is about more than how many seats it
holds in the People's Consultative Assembly and the House of
Representatives, and for how long they will hold onto these
seats. This is merely a distraction. It is at the informal level
that the TNI plays it's real political game. And with Megawati in
power, their line of influence to the center is more direct and
much strengthened -- hence their support.

Furthermore, while it may be true that the official defense
budget is low, this is a political -- not an economic -- argument
for the military's continuing economic interests. It makes no
economic sense at the organizational level for the military to be
in business. But, it does make sense at the individual level.
Much of the profits made by the official businesses never reach
the foundations to provide welfare for the troops. It is siphoned
off to provide off-salary incomes to serving (and some retired)
personnel.

Moreover, to view the TNI's abstention at the second motion of
censure as an outward sign of their desire to abstain from
politics illustrates a lack of understanding of the military-
politics dynamics. This abstention must be understood in the
context of back-room deals in the corridors of power.

For example, note the former President's agreement in the wake
of this incident to increase the number of troops to be deployed
to Aceh and the official sanctioning of the pursuit of a security
solution to the terrible problems in the province. This period --
immediately after the censure motion -- saw the end of attempts
at a political solution.

The situation in Aceh has gone from bad to worse. The most
recent show of contempt by the security forces to any attempts at
a peaceful solution is the arrest and alleged beating of several
Acehnese negotiators last week.

In conclusion, while Raggi may have been motivated by the best
of intentions, he has been distracted from the real drama being
played out before us. His analysis serves the interests of the
TNI very well. It gives legitimacy where none exists. The three
personalities he mentioned -- Syahnakri, Agus Widjojo and
Endriartono Sutarto are indeed prominent figures in the security
apparatus who -- are reportedly arming militias in West Papua,
their members raping, torturing and killing innocent civilians in
Aceh and other places around the archipelago. In addition, the
military is plundering the forests of Kalimantan and the economic
interests are depriving Indonesia of much-needed resources and of
a military which is truly professional.

Some final comments are necessary about the new presidency of
Megawati. While holding the legitimacy of a constitutional
transfer of power, she alone stands as perhaps the major obstacle
to reform.

Megawati has already made it quite clear with whom her
loyalties lie. It is not with the pro-democracy reformers, the
student and youth movements, and others who would like to see
reformasi re-energized and a priority on the political map. It is
with the political elite who will form her power base, and it is
with the military and police who have successfully resisted real
reform.

In Megawati we see a President who has made no secret of her
more often than necessary meetings with both serving and retired
military generals. Neither has she made any secret of her desire
to restore order around the archipelago.

The drama unfolding before us in Jakarta is a diversion. On
the periphery, for example in Aceh and in West Papua, the
instruments of the state -- the military and police -- instill
terror into the lives of innocent civilians. Today, the military
and police elite are posed -- one again -- to rule the Republic
by default via a compliant figurehead in the new President
Megawati.

The writer is a researcher based at the University of
Tasmania, Australia.