Indra Harsaputra and Abdul Khalik, Surabaya, Jakarta – The country's soldiers will have to wait at least until after the 2009 elections to exercise their right to vote, after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono instructed them Tuesday to remain neutral in next year's polls.
In a ceremony to mark the 63rd anniversary of the Indonesian Military's (TNI) establishment, the President, who is the TNI supreme commander, ordered all soldiers to stay out of politics and loyal to the elected government.
"In the face of the 2009 elections, I instruct all TNI soldiers to commit to neutrality, and avoid involvement in practical politics," he said.
Neither the 2008 election law nor the 2004 military law ban soldiers from voting.
First Lady Ani Yudhoyono, Vice President Jusuf Kalla, several Cabinet ministers, legislators and foreign envoys were also in attendance at the ceremony at the Surabaya Naval Base.
Yudhoyono said that in a democracy like Indonesia, a government could change every five years, but the TNI's loyalty to the state and legitimate government should be constant.
Observers expressed concern over the President's instruction, given that many active and retired military officers are seeking legislative and executive seats in regional and national elections.
Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) professor and military expert Ikrar Nusa Bhakti said the TNI still considered itself not ready to vote, for fear of creating a political chasm within the armed forces.
"The TNI leadership is worried that soldiers, especially those far from Jakarta, will be politicized and used by certain groups or political parties for their own interests, causing clashes among one another and sparking civilian conflicts," Ikrar said.
However, he said, the order to remain neutral might not work, with many high-ranking officers and retired generals set to contest regional and national elections.
"Soldiers in certain regions tend to prefer candidates with a military background. The military and its intelligence capacity can be used by such candidates in a psychological war or smear campaign against their political opponents," he said.
Earlier, scores of military analysts and activists claimed the TNI was still heavily politicized, with many officers taking part in the elections in the wake of the military reform.
The political tide within the TNI, combined with a slashed defense budget, will weaken the military, the analysts concluded at a press conference in Jakarta on Monday.
As a consequence, they went on, the reform movement would either take off, or the nation's soldiers would grow frustrated, resulting in a possible formal political intervention by the TNI.
Yudhoyono insisted the TNI reform had run well, and vowed to carry on with the process. "The TNI has gone through crucial moments during the past ten years, but its overall transformation will take time," he said.