Will the Indonesian Army step in to restore order in riot
torn Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital? Can former General Prabowo Subianto, who
failed to win the Presidental Election exploit this?
On May 21, 2019 the incumbent Joko Widodo (a man of non-military background) was democratically re-elected
President of Indonesia.
But the losing candidate, former General Subianto,
has “refused to accept the election results and [has] declared himself the winner”.
This has encouraged mobs in Jakarta to riot today.
The Indonesian police have attempted to contain the riots
with 6 people killed and 200 injured. Might the police be deemed inadequate to contain the situation? Might the Army be "called on" to restore order?
Since the Indonesian Army won independence against the Dutch colonialists in 1949 many in the Indonesian Army believe they are born to rule. This feeling is particularly strong amongst members of the Indonesian Special Forces (Kopassus). Kopassus is notorious for taking the law into its own hands. Subianto just happens
to have been a Commanding General of Kopassus from December 1995 to March 1998.
Subianto just happens to have a record in 1998 of
fomenting riots with the intention of using his military forces to “restore order”.
Wikipedia recalls: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prabowo_Subianto#Role_in_1998_riots_and_the_Fall_of_Suharto
"Less than three
months after his appointment as head of [Army Strategic Command (Kostrad)], on the first day of the May
1998 riots, [General Prabowo Subianto] urged the commander of the Indonesian
National Armed Forces, Wiranto, to let [General Prabowo Subianto] bring his Strategic Reserve units
from outside Jakarta into the city to help restore order.
Hundreds of men
trained by Kopassus (Prabowo's former command) were flown from Dili to
Yogyakarta in chartered planes, and then on to Jakarta by train. [General Prabowo
Subianto] publicly urged Indonesians to join him to fight "traitors to the
nation".
On the morning
of 14 May [1998], Kopassus troops escorted young thugs from Lampung in southern
Sumatra into the capital. Thus [General Prabowo Subianto] was accused of
using his contacts in his former command to import and create trouble, while
Wiranto had declined to give Prabowo's current command, Kostrad, permission to
quell the existing trouble, in line with classic Javanese tactic to stir chaos
to discredit a rival and/or seize power."
So now in 2019 will former General Prabowo Subianto, after failing to
gain power by democratic means, associating himself with troops who “restore order”. Could he, in the long run, rule by martial law?
Ex-General Prabowo Subianto choosing to wear quasi-military dress during his 2019 Presidential Election Campaign (Photo courtesy SCMP)
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Pete
2 comments:
Pete. Kopassus rarely if ever will 'take the law into it's own hands.' As Special Forces they can be tasked directly by the President. Their tasking is often political and orders are verbal not written. This was the case with the assassination of Theys Eluay. The President serving then is Widodo's party leader now.
Prabowo has lost the election. The present violence is post election jockeying for power and money, leveraging their ability to cause ongoing instability to force the winning party to select individuals from the losing coalition to posts of power in the new administration. They require access to State funds for patronage and to divert to their next election campaign. Watch who Widodo selects from among the losing coalition to join him. Power sharing.
One of the great dangers to a military dictatorship is the potential for the dictator to try to stay in power by getting involved in a war, giving excuses for martial law & to distract the general population. The Falklands war is a good example. It certainly distracted the population for a while. It also brought the nation to it’s knees.
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