Pol. & Econ. Role of Indonesian Mil

[cd@xxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: Re: Pol. & Econ. Role of Indonesian Military

It is not without concern for the particular curiosities of east asian 
governments to engage in a spiraling arms race for which this item is 
passed on in the hope not to offend strict burma obervors. metta dawn 
star

Subject: 
         Pol. & Econ. Role of Indonesian Military 
    Date: 
         Mon, 18 Mar 1996 08:54:52 -0500 
    From: 
         wharker@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Bill Harker)
Reply-To: 
         ipe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
      To: 
         INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY <ipe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Bill Harker wrote:
> 
> There is an interesting debate which has recently begun in Indonesia
> regarding the role of the military in the political and economic systems.
> As you know, the army, in 1965, overthrew President Sukarno (who had
> himself, with the support of the army and the Communist Party, supplanted
> the previous competitive party democratic regime) and installed General
> Suharto as President of the New Order.
> 
> In place of a party system, Indonesia introduced a functional group
> representative, Golkar.  Just as the Dutch had found, Indonesian leaders
> discovered that having one umbrella group as the representative of peasants,
> laborers, intellectuals, farmers, etc. was more efficient.  Golkar is the
> dominant election force, winning upwards of 70 percent of the vote in
> elections, but, by law, two (and only two at any one time) parties are
> allowed to exist.
> 
> Early last week, Army Chief of Staff Hartono said, in a speech, that ABRI
> (Indonesian armed forces) members are "cadres of Golkar."  This unleashed a
> storm of criticism from politicians and intellectuals.  In response to the
> criticism, Suwarno, the political affairs chief for ABRI, said the army must
> take sides to "guarantee stability."  Then, a regional general, Feisel
> Tanjung, waded in by saying the military does not take sides and that ABRI
> is "for the people...," "from the people...," and "by the people...."  He
> went on to say that ABRI's role is to "develop one big family."
> 
> Needless to say, all of this has provoked an intense discussion, with many
> Indonesians saying, in effect, "whoever thought the army was politically
> neutral to begin with?"
> 
> What makes this even more interesting is the development of two more stories
> over the same period.  Suharto's youngest son, Humerto (who now calls
> himself "Tommy"}, recently signed a car deal with (I think) Hyundai to
> produce Indonesia's first automobile.  It is an exclusive deal with no other
> Indonesian company allowed to participate or seek another foreign partner to
> create its own car.  Tommy has also monopolized the Indonesian
> telecommunications industry.  Some Indonesians claim that even if Suharto
> and/or the military were removed from power, Tommy (and Suharto) have
> created a situation where it would be impossible for a new government to
> eliminate the Suharto/Tommy dominance of telecommunications.
> 
> Finally, Sritex is claimed by Indonesians to be the largest textile mill in
> Southeast Asia.  It is currently engaged in a vicious strike by employees,
> which the government is attempting to suppresss.  But the interesting fact,
> and reason for the intensity of the suppression, is that it is owned by
> Kopassus (a group of Army elite officers), Hamoko, Indonesian Information
> Minister and Tutut, Suharto's daughter.
> 
> Although not related, these three events have dominated Indonesian news for
> the past couple of weeks and, I think, express some of the complexities of
> Indonesian life under military rule and the military's ability to infiltrate
> various parts of Indonesian life and economy.  In some ways comparable, some
> ways not comparable to other Southeast and South Asian countries.
> 
> William R. Harker
> e-mail:  wharker@xxxxxxxxxxxx