Movements opposed to a military president have spread into a number of cities-some with apparent help from the competition.

Sociologist Imam Prasodjo was shocked. While waiting at the station to record the talk show Ada Aa Gym, a program that was to present Imam and Golkar Party presidential candidate Wiranto on RCTI TV two weeks ago, he was abruptly summoned by Edi Pribadi, the program's producer. "Pak Wiranto does not want you on the program," Edi said.

The program, hosted by charismatic leader of the Darut Tauhid (Home of God's Unity) Islamic center, K.H. Abdullah Gymnastiar, was to begin just a few minutes later. Imam, who did not know where the sudden change in plan originated, suddenly became determined to find out more when he saw Wiranto enter the VIP waiting room. The sociology lecturer from the University of Indonesia Political and Social Sciences Faculty sat down beside the candidate and asked him directly. "Is it true," he asked, "that you are not comfortable with being on the program with me?" Wiranto answered, "Oh, that's not true at all." He repeated this denial again and again. Hearing Wiranto's answer, Imam confronted Edi and RCTI's Deputy Chief Editor, Atmadji Sumarkidjo. "Go ahead, there's no problem," they said. Imam ultimately appeared on camera.

Maj. Gen. (ret) Asman Akhir Nasution, former PT Telkom president director and now a member of Wiranto's success team, was the individual at the heart of the situation: the call to pull Imam from the show had actually come from him.

When Imam joined the show despite these orders, A.A. Nasution blew his top at the RCTI crew. "I did hear him getting angry," recalled Rasyidin, Aa Gym's secretary, who was present at the studio.

In fact, RCTI had earlier explained that the program would not be broadcast live. "If there was something that didn't sit well ... it could be edited out, right?" Edi said. All was sorted when the recording was replayed and Wiranto had absolutely no complaints. Asked to comment, A.A. Nasution did clarify the matter at great length, but he had absolutely no wish to be quoted.

The incident with Imam Prasodjo then began to circulate, starting from a single SMS and spreading through others, changing slightly with each transmission.

People were soon knocked backwards by the implications of the question: Is this what happens when we have dealings with a presidential candidate from a military background, who is also surrounded by many former generals?

When Wiranto won at the Golkar convention and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a former armed forces socio-political affairs chief, was certain to enter the list of candidates, the "specter" of a military administration quickly turned ghastly. There were images of freedom of expression muzzled; a government running without any external controls. Apart from Wiranto and Yudhoyono, another candidate, Agum Gumelar, a former commander of the Special Forces Command, is Hamzah Haz's vice-presidential candidate.

That is why the anti-military president movements have spread so quickly.

Head of the State Intelligence Agency, (BIN) A.M. Hendropriyono, at a closed-door meeting with the DPR last Tuesday, revealed there are some groups who want the presidential election to be chaotic. One of them is seeking this by sowing the seeds for a negative reaction among the international community to those presidential candidates considered to have violated human rights.

Although he wasn't explicit, it is not difficult to guess that the candidate Hendro alluded to was Gen. (ret) Wiranto, who is often accused of responsibility in various cases of human rights violation.

Golkar faction's Yasril Ananta Baharuddin said that BIN then described a group of institutions (NGOs) from Indonesia and abroad that it believed could disturb security. "There are around 20, including the Director of International Crisis Group (ICG) Sidney Jones and the Institution for the Study of Human Rights and Public Advocacy," Yasril said (see Facing Expulsion).

Movements opposed to a military president are certainly nothing new but the most recent was with the appearance of the New Indonesia Movement (GBI), announced two weeks ago. A forum for 1998 student activists and a number of NGO activists, the group also includes the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI).

None other than performing artists Wanda Hamidah and Gugun Gondrong appeared among the NGO activists at its declaration. "The New Indonesia Movement rejects military presidential candidates," said one GBI representative, Togi Simanjuntak.

In Malang, East Java, movements to reject retired military officer candidates began two weeks ago and were enlivened by the burning, in the Malang town square, of colored mannequins in military camouflage. In Central Java, the rejection of former military candidates is being supported by the Semarang Prodem Alliance. Robertus Belarminus, Chairman of the Indonesian Catholic Student Union Presidium (PMKRI), says that the issues that his group supports are not only the rejection of former top-brass candidates, but also rejection of militarism. "We don't just reject military figures," he told TEMPO reporter Sohirin, "we also reject top civilians engaged in militarism."

In Yogyakarta, similar actions were staged by the Yogya Student Action Front (FAMJ). "The military are still too frightening to us to become national leaders," FAMJ coordinator Achmad Rifqi Ilmu said. One of the reasons is that the military are basically non-democratic, even though people such as Wiranto, Yudhoyono, and Agum Gumelar are no longer actively serving officers.

"Although SBY [as Yudhoyono is called] has been stamped a military reformist, that is still not sufficiently convincing for us," Rifqi told Tempo's Heru C.N.

In Surabaya, a demonstration by the People's United Democratic Front (FDRB) even ended with the breaking down of the gates to the Grahadi State Building, where the East Java Governor receives his guests.

Actions opposed to candidates who are former generals, whether or not they succeed in fully derailing those hopefuls, do seem to benefit their civilian competitors. What's more, a number of students' movements are even said to have been sponsored by politicians of parties supporting non-military candidates.

The media has frequently referred to the involvement of PDI-P official and Minister of Manpower Jacob Nuwa Wea in student actions-something Jacob denies.

The City Forum Group (Forkot) is also commonly said to be funded by the PDI-P. Forkot activist, Adian Napitupulu, however, strongly denies the reports, even though he did not deny that he had once been invited to join the Mega Center. "If you say that I have known lots of PDI-P people for some time, well that's true, but I have never joined the party," he told Nunuy Nurhayati from Tempo News Room.

YLBHI Chairman Munarman, too, did not deny the possibility that the GBI has already been approached by Mega's success team. However, he stressed that his group's agenda only covered four issues: anti-militarism, anti-corruption, anti-New Order, and anti-imperialism. "Possibly there could be a symbiosis, provided it doesn't interfere with these four agendas," he said.

Although he rejects accusations that its actions were being supported by the "Wild Bull" PDI-P camp, FDRB spokesman, Rudy Asiko, does realize that FDRB's anti-militarism and anti-New Order campaigns will benefit Mega and Hasyim's position. But he claims this is part of the movement's strategy. "When we face a larger enemy, that larger enemy must be opposed [jointly]," he said.

The Wiranto camp is well aware of the hidden "attack" that is likely behind most anti-military candidate movements. That is understandable, given that his past has frequently been in the spotlight. Wiranto is accused of being responsible for the May 1998 disturbances, the Semanggi I and II incidents, as well as the post-opinion poll disturbances in East Timor in 1999.

"Apparently, Teuku Umar [where Megawati lives] is trying to apply the strategy that led PDI-P to victory in 1999," said Komaruddin, one of Wiranto's success team. He alluded to PDI-P's effort to stir up anti-military and anti-New Order sentiment to win the July 5 election.

Slamet Effendy Yusuf, Chairman of the Wiranto-Solahuddin Wahid success team, says that they are collecting evidence on the PDI-P's efforts to back students to stage a negative campaign against Wiranto. He even claims to have complete data and recordings of the discussion at a meeting at Jacob Nuwa Wea's house on May 6.

The PDI-P success team denies accusations that they are funding the demonstrations. PDI-P Deputy Secretary-General Pramono Anung says that the party's top leadership has already forbidden party members to campaign negatively in the presidential election. "We have asked anybody supporting Mega-Hasyim to campaign smartly, elegantly, and not to engage in a negative campaign," he told Dedy Sinaga from TEMPO News Room. He was unwilling to comment on the rumors involving Jacob.

Even though he is not in as much difficulty as Wiranto is in fending off human rights issues, Yudhoyono, too, has been swept up in many oblique rumors, such as that of his support by non-Muslims and the US. There is also the question of money from a "black" conglomerate in his success team's camp.

Yudhoyono has even appeared personally to straighten out some of these accusations. His success team argues that the guerrilla tactics of the anti-military candidates are no longer fair. "This is part of black propaganda," said Democrat Party Deputy Secretary-General, Max Sopacua.

There has been no excessive reaction from Indonesian Military (TNI) Headquarters at Cilangkap. "The military will not be affected by that sort of campaign," said TNI Information Center Head Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin.

"We have already stressed that we won't side with any of the candidates. People should feel free to campaign against [anti-military candidates], because the candidates affected are no longer military personnel, after all."

Compared to his two competitors, the vice-presidential candidate from the United Development Party, Agum Gumelar, seems safest. Possibly because his position is 'just' that of vice-presidential candidate, he has been left unscathed by any attack. "We don't need to a priori, or even frontally, confront those who do not agree with having a military figure," said Abu Hasan Sazili, success team member for the Hamzah Haz-Agum Gumelar pair.

It will certainly be difficult to ensure that the anti-military candidate movement runs purely without any accusation of being infiltrated by civilian candidates' interests. Being against one candidate may very well be interpreted as being for another one. The fact that the civilian candidates also have success teams containing old soldiers from the green-uniformed corps could also weaken these movements (see Old Soldiers Never Die).

Imam Prasodjo argues that the militaristic attitude should be rejected-as one that can infect both former military men and civilian politicians as well. Imam remains unconvinced that an anti-military campaign, either one that is untainted or one paid for by other candidates, will be effective.

Apart from only touching urban dwellers, not all anti-military groups are participating in this campaign, unlike in 1998. "The only ones to be influenced will be the emotional voters; it won't get down to the grass roots," he added.

The Wiranto camp remains confident-if perhaps a little shaken by the various actions-that their final vote will not be affected. Slamet points out that Golkar's vote, and this for a party that had been battered half-dead, did rise phoenix-like in the last legislature election. What people hunger for now, he argued, is a leader who can resolve their difficult lives. "What is needed is a leader who offers a solution to the nation's problems," he said, "not someone who creates issues, holds grudges, and keeps prejudices."

Research by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) and International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) shows that, compared to the other candidates, it is precisely Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a military man, that the public are most drawn to. LSI researcher Saiful Mujani said some time ago that the popularity of Yudhoyono could be attributed to the drop in the public's trust for civilian politicians and Yudhoyono's strong image. NGO Imparsial's Munir said that even "civilian politicians are generally still dependent on support from the military."

Some suggest that, rather than staging an anti-military candidate campaign, it would be better to lay out in full view the past sins and backgrounds of all the candidates, both civilian and military, so the facts become clear in voters' eyes. As for the rest, let the public make the decision-leave the true test for the voter's box.

[Hanibal W.Y. Wijayanta, Widiarsi Agustina, Sudrajat, Sunudyantoro (Surabaya).]