Letter : The military and politics

Tue, 03/17/2009 3:42 PM  |  Reader's Forum

I believe neither intelligence analysis nor political mapping are against any democratic values or are playing practical politics; it is purely analysis as a part of the military function.

Therefore, I think the article published by The Jakarta Post on March 3 titled "The puzzle of TNI warnings in a democratic age" by Rizal Sukma is too suspicious. One of the functions of military units is to make intelligence estimates of the area of dislocation, so that all military units may fully understand what kind of situation the unit may face during its mission.

Military commander Gen. Djoko Santoso was right to give the necessary information and intelligence assessment to the leaders of all the military operational units under the command of the military headquarters; an intelligence briefing to the leaders of the operational units is the command function. The briefing is dedicated internally and it was not intended for public consumption. Why was it published by the press?

Making a political analysis is nothing to due with practical politics or playing politics. As we all know, the military now does not have any commitment to any political institution as it did in the past. So making an analysis on the impact of the general elections should not be interpreted as military involvement in practical politics.

The reform era introduced a new concept of democracy and the role of the military. On the national level, however, I agree with the observation concerning the uncertain role of the military, as described in Rizal's article. Rizal blames the government for neglecting the foundation of the National Security Council. I agree with this, and I would like to suggest the military be given a place in the political forum, not on a practical level but on a policy level, in the People's Consultative Assembly.

The idea to amend the Constitution has been raised again by various groups of people, including President SBY. Everyone wants the amendment from different angles. I suggest we remember our popular but forgotten concept of building national resilience, or national resistance.

Our Constitution should be a strong foundation for the achievement of our national goals, which means the Indonesian people should reform the People's Consultative Assembly and, for the same reason, the TNI and maybe other elements of society should be given places in the Assembly, as was originally stated in 1945 Constitution. The Assembly is not a political forum on a practical level; it is the highest forum to deal with basic policies for the country. The Assembly should revive its political status, as was intended by the 1945 Constitution.

Soedibyo

Jakarta

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