Jakarta – Conflict between three factions within the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) is hampering efforts to reform the military, says an academic. Marcus Mietzner, a military analyst from the Australian National University (ANU), says the three factions are radical, moderate and conservative.
He says the militarys problems are exacerbated by the fact that TNI Commander Admiral Widodo Adisutjipto doesnt get strong support from influential officers because he is not from the Army.
Speaking to reporters on Monday on the sidelines of a seminar on civilian-military relations, Mietzner said the three TNI factions are now jockeying for key positions within the military, thereby hindering the reform process.
Giving an example of the military friction, he cited the efforts by several generals to bring former chief of the Armys Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) Lieutenant General Agus Wirahadikusumah before a council of officers.
Actually there is no strong reason to take Agus before an Honorary Officers Council, he said, adding that certain generals want to prevent Agus from holding an influential position.
Agus, who is close to President Abdurrahman Wahid, has angered many military officials by exposing corruption in Kostrad. He has also stirred up hardliners by calling on the military to withdraw from politics and take responsibility for past violations of human rights abuse. Mietzner said Agus is a member of the radical faction, that wants swift reforms in the armed forces, in line with demands from civilians.
He said the moderate faction can be represented by TNI Territorial Affairs Chief Lieutenant General Agus Widjojo. This faction mistrusts the various interests of political groups and therefore it wont follow all demands for reform. This faction is suspicious of military officers who are too close to the politicians.
Mietzner said the conservative faction can be represented by Lieutenant General Djaja Suparman. This faction wants the reform process to take place as gradually as possible. It doesnt want civilians to know about reform processes within the military.
The analyst said all three factions share similar political objectives, but they have different approaches toward achieving these objectives. He said reform of the military is also hampered by some external factors, such as differences of opinion among politicians on the role the armed forces should play in Indonesias future.