Anthem, flag absent from veterans’ TNI celebration in Makassar
Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post, Makassar, South Sulawesi | Tue, 10/05/2010 6:03 PM
The national anthem and flag were absent when more than a hundred veterans and their families marked the 65th anniversary of the Indonesian Military (TNI) at the West Irian liberation monument in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Tuesday.
Participants hoisted a white flag and a small red-and-white paper banner, forming a circle around the monument. Some veterans held sharpened bamboo poles.
Col. (ret) Muhammad Idris, who presided over the ceremony, said the veterans and their families marked the anniversary in grief, as they faced expulsion from military housing.
"We are all in the same boat and are united by misfortune. We have been neglected by the state and confronted by our [sucessors] who are still active in the military. How poor is the fate of retired soldiers,” Idris told the audience.
The Army chief of staff issued a circular in August asking retired TNI members to leave their military houses within six months, saying the state assets would be allocated to active soldiers.
