Margot Cohen, Jakarta – It was a stirring reformasi passion play. On the night of November 29, six of former President Suharto's top generals – once untouchables – faced the hot glare of TV lights and fended off scorching questions from legislators about the military's human-rights record in rebellious Aceh province.

The scorn unleashed by the parliamentary subcommittee would have been unthinkable under the old regime. One after another, the newly elected politicians launched into litanies of murder, rape and genital mutilation, citing allegations from human-rights groups. The generals' cool demeanour only fuelled the MPs' anger. "Was your conscience torn to shreds, watching your troops humiliate the Acehnese and destroy their dignity?" demanded Julius Usman, an Acehnese MP from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle.

But the four-hour onslaught seemed to make nary a dent in the armour of retired generals Try Sutrisno, Feisal Tanjung, Benny Murdani and others. Try, who served as armed-forces commander during a peak period in the Aceh conflict in the late 1980s and early 1990s, struck a familiar nationalist note. He echoed the line of Gen.

Wiranto, now coordinating minister for politics and security, who was grilled by the same subcommittee on November 25, said "You have to understand that there are outside forces who are trying to destabilize us," he said.

The televised spectacle was only the latest evidence of growing civilian pressure on the military. As investigations of alleged human-rights abuses in Aceh and East Timor gather steam, government ministers are struggling to satisfy the political clamour for legal sanctions against the military. Rather than resort to court martials and risk light sentences, Attorney-General Marzuki Darusman is advocating judicial panels with civilian and military judges. Analysts say the escalating human-rights debate reflects a broader push to consolidate civilian rule in Indonesia.

"We are trying to control the extent of military power over national affairs," says Heri Akhmadi, a former student activist who is now an Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle MP. "Everyone expects that within the next five years the military will no longer play a political role."

That's news to those in the armed forces who continue to view the military as a vital player in Indonesia's political future. While pledging their willingness to adjust to new civilian demands for transparency and accountability, some officers clearly resent the latest broadsides and unease is percolating within the ranks.

"This is all a political game," gripes an army colonel based in Jakarta. "If they succeed in shaking the strongest pillar of national unity, Indonesia is finished."

Both friends and foes of the armed forces are concerned the growing pressure could trigger a backlash. "They have their pride. You're talking about the credibility and the authority of the armed forces," says Yorrys Raweyai, head of Pancasila Youth, a nationwide group with strong ties to the military. "I'm worried that there will come a point where they could turn around and do whatever they want."

The same fears seem to be shadowing the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on East Timor, which began work in mid-November. The five-member commission is to submit a report on alleged human-rights abuses to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan by the end of the year, and will visit Jakarta on December 5-8 to meet high-level government officials. Meetings with military officials have yet to be confirmed.

"The government here is very fragile. If we push too hard, we'll ruin everything," frets one UN official. He says that if the commission identifies top military officials "the kinds of subsequent violations that would occur would make what happened in East Timor pale by comparison."

Behind the scenes commission members are passing information to the Indonesian human-rights commission pursuing its own East Timor investigation, hoping the evidence will aid swift prosecution. Given their distrust of Indonesians, many Timorese prefer to supply information to the UN commission.

So far, it appears the Indonesian commission is conducting a credible investigation – surprising some observers who had feared a whitewash. In late November, the commission announced in its initial findings that the military organized the destruction that followed the vote in East Timor.

Commission members don't appear worried about a military backlash. "The reality is that officers who no longer have command positions can't do much to create trouble," says commission secretary Asmara Nababan. Still, when push comes to shove, some observers believe President Abdurrahman Wahid will seek to protect Wiranto and other officers for the sake of national stability. The true test of civilian pressure won't come until some generals find themselves in court. If that doesn't happen, the parliamentary hearings and investigators' announcements will add up to little more than a TV soap opera.