J

ust four days after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono disclosed a rumor that military and police forces were conspiring against him in the upcoming elections, Army Chief Gen. Agustadi Sasongko Purnomo summoned 262 Army officers, 200 of which were retirees, for a meeting on Monday. The general told the retired officers not to try to lure the Indonesian Military (TNI) into taking sides with certain candidates in the next presidential election. The President has childishly reacted to mere gossip.

It is understandable that the Army chief wants to convince the President - the supreme commander of the TNI - that everything is under control. He, however, needs to remember that retired officers are now civilians that no longer have a structural relation with the TNI. Moreover, as civilians, they have the freedom to express and exercise their political rights.

As they proved in the 1999 and 2004 elections, Indonesian voters are very wise and perfectly capable of using their political rights peacefully. A small group of retired generals will not be able to change voters' stance just because of the generals' "provocation".

It is difficult to understand why President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono popped up with such a cheap rumor in front of TNI and National Police (Polri) top brass. The President himself acknowledged that he was going only on gossip with his claim that there are campaigns within the Army and Polri to not support a presidential candidate whose name begins with "S".

But, even if the rumor was proven to be true, the President still needs to act elegantly and democratically. The President's move to scold his political opponents may remind Indonesians of former president Soeharto, who often accused "certain parties" or "a third party" of trying to unseat him. At that time the military responded to Soeharto's verbal accusation by arresting political activists, often without evidence.

As a retired four-star general, the President is expected to be mature enough to respond to such cheap gossip appropriately. Perhaps he feels uneasy because there are several retired generals who have expressed their plan to run in the July presidential elections, including former TNI Chief Gen. (ret) Wiranto, former Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) Chief Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo Subianto and former Jakarta Governor Lt. Gen. (ret) Sutiyoso.

It is natural that these presidential aspirants seek support from the TNI and their former colleagues. But they need to remember that the election is not decided by a group of active or retired military officers, but by the people.

Yudhoyono apparently is still traumatized by an incident in the 2004 presidential election when Banyumas (in Central Java) Police Chief Sr. Comr. Andi Mapparesa urged the families of police officers and retired police officers to vote for then incumbent president Megawati Soekarnoputri. The police officers paid dearly for Andi's mistake.

We call on the President to make thorough preparations before making public statements. It is true that the TNI should be neutral in politics, but even if some TNI generals try to play politics, the Indonesian people are mature enough and will not be easily agitated. They have learned much from Soeharto's era.