| Subject: WP: Wiranto's
in Charge says Defense Minister
Indonesian General Exploits New Role
By Keith B. Richburg Washington Post
Foreign Service Friday, December 3, 1999; Page A25
JAKARTA, Indonesia, Dec. 2—Just five
weeks ago, when a respected, soft-spoken academic, Juwono Sudarsono, was
named Indonesia's defense minister, the choice was heralded as the
political eclipse of the once-powerful military as the country entered the
new democratic era.
Indonesia had just chosen a popular new
president, Abdurrahman Wahid, known as "Gus Dur," who, despite
his physical frailty, began to immediately assert his authority. The armed
forces commander, Gen. Wiranto--once considered a top contender for vice
president or even president--was suddenly sidelined to a nominal cabinet
job with little real power. Juwono, as the first civilian defense chief in
decades, was the most obvious sign of a break from the past, and the
beginning of civilian supremacy over the armed forces.
But Juwono, in an interview this week,
said he sees the process of getting the army out of politics as a gradual
one. In fact, he cannot even answer with certainty his own rhetorical
question "Am I a nominal or a substantive civilian defense
minister?"
"I'm just the beginning of an
eventual form of civilian control," Juwono said, speaking candidly
and at length about the complex power relationship between the government
and the military. "It will take a few months, or years.
"I would like the commander of the
forces to be subordinate to me. That would be my long-term goal." But
to those--including members of the U.S. Congress--who want to see more
immediate civilian control, he said simply "Things are not as easy as
they look."
One complicating factor is Wiranto's
continued dominance in the power game. He has managed to survive
Indonesia's transition to democracy--and the loss of the armed forces
commander's job--with most of his power intact, even enhanced. His new
job, coordinating minister for political affairs and security, had been
mainly a figurehead position. But Wiranto has used the job to make himself
something like a powerful chief of staff to the nearly blind Wahid.
In cabinet meetings, Wiranto sits to
Wahid's immediate right, chairing the sessions deciding the agenda and
laying out policy options, Juwono said. And in a cabinet of mostly
newcomers, there is little give and take, and not much debate.
"Wiranto on occasion becomes
effectively the president and the vice president at the same time,"
Juwono said. "He's a very effective briefer. It's a powerful
role."
He said the meetings tend to be
"rather structured, because there are limits to what Gus Dur can
remember."
Juwono said Wiranto's role has become
even more important given the president's impaired vision, which makes it
impossible for him to read documents. "At the moment, we are worried
that his only source of information is what is whispered in his ear,"
Juwono said. He added, however, that Wahid is an avid listener to
Indonesian radio and television news broadcasts.
Wiranto played a crucial role from the
beginning; he was one of five people who helped draw up the current
cabinet--the others being Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri, Golkar
party chairman Akbar Tandjung, People's Consultative Assembly Speaker
Amien Rais and Wahid. "All of the other four recognized that
[Wiranto] was a force to be reckoned with," Juwono said.
Juwono calls it a paradox that Wiranto's
power has increased in the era of democracy, precisely as the military's
record of abuse--under Wiranto's stewardship--has come under intense
scrutiny. "Paradoxically, he provides the continuity," Juwono
said.
Wiranto made a power play early on,
signing off on a new military promotion list while Wahid was out of the
country, and without first clearing it through Juwono.
Another measure of Wiranto's clout is
that he has moved into his new position without first resigning from
active duty in the military--which leaves him in a more powerful position
within the armed forces, even though there is a new commander, Navy
Admiral A.S. Widodo.
Two other active duty generals who moved
into Wahid's cabinet, Lt. Gen. Bambang Yudhoyono and Lt. Gen. Agum
Gumelar, as ministers of mines and communications, respectively, also have
not resigned their military positions, as was widely expected.
Juwono said the refusal of Wiranto and
the others to retire from the service is evidence of their influence in
the new civilian government.
"By law, they should retire,"
Juwono said. "The fact that Gus Dur still tolerates them as acting
officers, without declaring their retirement from the services, is
indicative of their real bargaining power." He added, "There's
still that mutual need on both sides."
The mutual need, according to several
analysts, is that Wiranto needs Wahid for protection against an
ever-tightening noose of human rights probes, by internal bodies looking
at past military abuses in the restive province of Aceh and in East Timor,
and by a U.N. team investigating atrocities committed by army-backed
militias after East Timor's independence vote in August.
Earlier this week, Indonesian lawmakers
grilled Wiranto and two former generals over abuses in Aceh while,
coincidentally on the same day, East Timorese resistance leader Xanana
Gusmao came to Jakarta and publicly singled out Wiranto as responsible for
the violence that ravaged his homeland after the independence referendum.
On Wednesday, a government panel investigating the East Timor violence
blamed the armed forces for a campaign of killing and destruction,
including a Sept. 6 church massacre in the town of Suai that killed 26
people, including three Roman Catholic priests.
Wahid, on the other hand, needs the
support of the military against his true rival, Muslim leader Amien Rais
and the Islamic bloc that essentially gave Wahid the presidency by
endorsing him over the popular Megawati, who was the longtime front-runner
for president.
Back
to December Menu
World Leaders Contact List
Human Rights Violations in East Timor
Main Postings Menu
Note: For those who would like to fax "the
powers that be" - CallCenter V3.5.8, is a Native 32-bit Voice Telephony software
application integrated with fax and data communications... and it's free of charge!
Download from http://www.v3inc.com/ |
