Yet another maneuver
Yet another maneuver
Never before has this country been rocked by such violent
riots and intergroup and interreligious conflicts. The show seems
to go on against a backdrop of Armed Forces' weakening
operational capability and dramatic plunge in popularity both
here and abroad.
The military's response to unrest has always been high
profile, often followed by low operational capability. A good
example of this is Ambon, the capital of Maluku, and its
surrounding areas, where interreligious hysteria has been
continuing unabated for weeks.
Despite the military's omnipresence there, people are still
being terrified by daily bomb explosions. Those who cannot stand
the worsening situation are leaving the island for safer
destinations. To the panic stricken people and the rest of the
nation, the military, which reacted rather tardy to this latest
violence, not only failed to prevent outbreaks of new chaos, but
has also illustrated that it is unable to stop more people
falling victim. Resident of Ambon say soldiers have been panic
stricken in facing the fracas.
The geographical condition of the province, which consists of
many small islands -- and the fact that the number of troops now
operating there is less than enough -- has prompted the military
to form a special, highly trained force for rapid deployment to
quell riots. The force will also be deployed to other areas
experiencing riots.
The force consists of soldiers from the Army Strategic
Reserves Command (Kostrad), the Army's Special Force (Kopassus),
the marines, the Air Force special troops (Paskhas) and the
National Police Mobile Brigade.
The formation appears to be confirmation that the
establishment of the controversial People's Security (Kamra) was
pointless. But in this age of confusion, the public is expected
to understand these things.
The combination of the new force shows a modern organization,
perhaps. But many Indonesians have not forgotten how the Kopassus
crack force -- which is part of the new team -- fiercely and
victoriously played a leading role in the campaign to liberate
West Irian (now Irian Jaya) from colonial Dutch hands in 1962,
and almost individually wiped out communist forces in 1965.
The following years saw Kopassus as the most popular military
unit in Indonesia. This was made possible by the historic reality
that the Sukarno regime, unlike Gen. Soeharto, did not abuse the
military for personal political ends.
Such abuse eroded the military's professionalism and averted
its attention to its social and political roles. Its failures
reached a peak when the country became mired in instability.
The military has solved none of the recent tragedies, from the
shooting of Trisakti students in May 1998 to the latest
atrocities in Aceh.
We feel great pity for the military whenever it blames elusive
creatures, or provocateurs as it calls them, for all the social
unrest, rather than learning a lesson from such tragedies.
If this way of thinking continues, we are afraid rioting may
erupt in more provinces, including Jakarta. This would not only
foil the June general election, but would also scare the rest of
the world.
A return to professionalism seems the only choice for the
military. And the only way to secure the country's future. It was
encouraging to hear East Java Military Commander Maj. Gen.
Ryamizard Ryacudu's statement in an interview with Forum magazine
this week in which he said the military had to strive to be a
professional armed force.
We sincerely hope that his opinion will not be a cry in the
wilderness.