Rizal Sukma, New York – These days, it is so tempting to write about Iran and the domestic reaction to Indonesia's voting in favor of the UN Security Council resolution sanctioning Tehran over its nuclear program.

However, I managed to resist the temptation when, after browsing the news about Indonesians' reaction to the vote in my office at the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, New York, I found more disturbing news: Mohammad Anis, the editor of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's website, was beaten up and almost killed by a drunken soldier, for no reason whatsoever. Anis was quietly eating his dinner when he felt the obligation to calm the soldier, who was causing trouble in the vicinity. For that noble intervention, he was badly beaten up.

Unlike the case of Iran, no politicians rushed to his defense and raised the issue in public. To many politicians in this country, Anis might not be an important figure. But what he experienced that night – beaten up and almost killed by a soldier, who is supposed to protect the nation from external threats – is really the tip of the iceberg.

The problem goes deeper than just a matter of an individual member of the armed forces exercising his physical power over an ordinary citizen. It is not an isolated incident, and should not be seen as one. It is a problem that goes deeper into the wider problem of the unfinished military reform.

Why do I think this problem is important, perhaps even more important than the Iranian nuclear issue? For one, the incident could have happened to me, to you and to anyone in Indonesia. It could have been me, you or even a member of parliament who was beaten up for trying to calm a drunken soldier. I believe any good citizen – as demonstrated by Anis that night – would have intervened to calm the soldier.

More importantly, the soldier had no hesitation whatsoever to beat and even try to kill a citizen.

He might have been drunk at the time, but that is also part of the problem. How on earth can a soldier, wearing a military uniform, which means he is on duty, get drunk? Why did the soldier have no problem whatsoever with drinking to the point of drunkenness? Why was he not afraid of his superiors or of being punished for drinking while on duty? All these questions point to the problem of a lack of discipline. This is the first aspect of the problem that we find in the incident.

The second aspect relates to the fact that there have been a number of incidents in the past where soldiers displayed and exercised naked physical force, if not violence, against ordinary citizens. In Pekanbaru, Riau, on March 27, a member of the Navy reportedly tortured a 19-year-old woman accused of stealing a cellular phone from a customer at a cafe. The soldier reportedly set fire to the girl's hands and feet.

This was only the latest incident of violence inflicted upon ordinary citizens by members of the Indonesian Military (TNI). I also remember a case in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, where two journalists from TV7 and MetroTV were beaten up by rogue members of the military.

The fact that some members of the military find it so easy to use violence against civilians clearly demonstrates the presence of a culture of violence within the rank and files. Some of our soldiers still see their status as members of the armed forces as a reason and excuse for arrogance.

We, of course, cannot blame this entirely on the soldiers. The culture of violence was pervasive within the armed forces during the New Order era. In fact, this culture of violence was embedded in the nature of the New Order, as an authoritarian regime.

Now, as Indonesia consolidates its democracy, and with the principle of civilian supremacy having been enshrined in the 2002 National Defense Law and the 2004 Indonesian Military Law, it is important that the government also look at how this problem of violence might be addressed.

True, we need to boost the defensive capabilities of our armed forces, Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono stated recently to the House. It is also true that our armed forces needs a deterrent capability. But we also need to deter members of the armed forces from committing violence against ordinary Indonesian citizens.

For that, further military reform is imperative.