Muhammad Nafik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The bill on general elections, which provides that members of
the military will be able to vote and be elected in the 2004
general election, is a good start but on its own is insufficient
to take the military out of politics, say observers.
"As long as the generals still have their own interests in
the national political constellation, the TNI cannot be
neutral," Arief Budiman, a lecturer in the University of
Melbourne, was quoted by Antara as saying in Canberra,
Australia.
Military leaders here who objected to the bill have said that
once it was passed into law, the military would not be able to
remain neutral in politics.
Arief, an expert on Indonesian politics, dismissed the
Indonesian Military (TNI)'s claim of neutrality as a myth.
George Aditjondro, an expert on Indonesian politics from the
University of Newcastle, said the draft law was a
"progressive step" in nurturing democracy.
There was nothing to worry about if soldiers were allowed to
vote and to be elected in an election as it was common practice in
many countries, George said.
Even so, he said that affording the TNI electoral rights was
not enough on its own to tame the powerful military, but needed to
be followed by "total reform" within the military
itself, including the abolition of its much-criticized dual
function.
"The TNI/National Police faction in the House should be
dissolved and the TNI's dual function scrapped, particularly as
regards socio-political affairs, including the roles of the
socio-political directorate chiefs both at the central and
regional levels.
"Without all this, reform will remain elusive as the
military's domination in practical politics over civilians will
increase," George told Antara.
No other country had such a massive military presence as
represented by the TNI's territorial commands at all
administrative levels from the provinces right down to the
regencies, he said. In fact, the TNI's local political structure
was a carbon copy of the structure of the home affairs ministry.
Arief said a military's neutrality could normally be measured
by its loyalty to the legitimate government headed by the
president. But the reality experienced by former president
Abdurrahman Wahid revealed that the TNI had defied his order as
the supreme commander to dissolve the People's Consultative
Assembly (MPR) when it started the process of ousting him.
"In this case, the TNI sided with the political decision
made by the legislature. In this case, can the military be
considered neutral?" Arief asked.
The campaign to rid the TNI of its political role, he said,
remained "unrealistic" because in reality many of its
senior members were supporters of mass organizations, such as
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, both of which were closely
linked to politics.
The TNI's partiality was also influenced by the fact that many
of its leaders held strategic positions in the decision-making
process, he added.
Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno, who drafted the bill,
reiterated on Thursday that military and police personnel would
have to resign completely from their respective organizations if
they wanted to contest legislative seats.
Another analyst, Nurcholish Madjid, also backed efforts to
swiftly remove the TNI from politics so that it could focus on its
defense and security duties.
A neutral stance on the part of the military in politics would
boost its credibility and reputation among the people as the move
would make it more professional, he told journalists here on
Thursday.
Nurcholish said TNI and police personnel should quit their
respective forces and become civilians if they wanted to vie for
seats in the Regional Representatives' Council (DPD), which along
with the House will make up the MPR starting from 2004.
Separately, Egyptian constitutional law expert Mohamed Ershad
questioned Indonesia's political system for accommodating the TNI
in its legislative bodies.
"I don't understand why the military institution in
Indonesia has official legislative representatives, while it is
part of the government apparatus, and whose status is similar to
that of other departments," he was quoted by Antara as
saying in Cairo.
Agus Widjojo, chairman of the TNI/National Police faction in
the House, has voiced his full support for any move to strip the
military and the police of their political roles before the 2009
deadline set by MPR Decree No. 7/2000.