Why is the Kostrad chief losing his job?
Emerging as reform’s most outspoken proponent within Indonesia’s military, Agus Wirahadikusumah is apparently going to lose his job this week. Those within the military who dislike him—and there are plenty—will clearly be delighted. For them, this 1973 graduate from the military command school has repeatedly broken the soldiers’ code of ethics, especially through a series of public statements that only served to make them nervous.
Wirahadikusumah entered the public stage with a vengeance last February, at the height of tensions between President Abdurrahman Wahid and former military chief General Wiranto. Wirahadikusumah, then chief of the Wirabuana military command in Sulawesi, took Wahid’s side.
As a two-star general it was widely seen by his colleagues as insubordination, since Wiranto had four stars on his shoulder. Many saw red when he was promoted to lead the army’s elite strategic reserve better known by its abbreviation Kostrad. Now it’s Wirahadikusumah’s turn to face the music.
Insubordination is a cardinal sin within the military apparatus. Respecting the chain of command is a part of a soldier’s oath. For this reason dilemmas can occur. What should one do if the orders and behavior of senior officers conflict with your honest convictions?
This is no new issue. Two thousand years ago Valmiki expressed it in the form of a great epic, the Ramayana, still a popular tale at puppet plays throughout Java and Bali. Pujangga, the author of the drama, lived at a time when people in India were looking critically at the role of the warrior caste.
Kumbakarna and Wibisana were the ones who faced the dilemma in the play. They were the two younger brothers of Rahwana, the King of Alengka who made war against the play’s hero, Rama. The two younger brothers each made a different decision and neither was easy. In the play, Kumbakarna defends Rahwana although he knows that his older brother is wrong in carrying on the war. Wibisana follows the voice of his heart and crosses to Rama’s side, to fight against his own flesh and blood.
Arjuna made the same choice when he had to make war against his senior, Bisma, in the Mahabharata, another Hindu classic. The late Mahatma Gandhi also made the same choice in the early 20th century in his struggle for an independent and democratic India.
Could Wirahadikusumah also be taking Wibisana as his role model, fighting against his own?
We do not know if this is so or not. Maybe Wirahadikusumah, the recipient of a Masters (public administration) degree from Harvard University, never even followed Javanese puppet play stories that seriously. His writings in three books—ABRI and Agenda for Change, New Indonesia and the TNI’s Challenge and Professional and Dedicated ABRI—suggest he has his eyes set on the future rather than back at the past.
A general with extensive military education in the US and Australia, Wirahadikusumah has sometimes stunned his peers. Could he be following in the footsteps once trod by the late General Charles de Gaulle, who played a major role in transforming the French armed forces about half a century ago?
De Gaulle is a controversial character. But he succeeded in changing the paradigms of the French military. He turned it from an institution which was involved in politics—among other reasons because they were the ultimate guarantor of security in its colonies—into a modern and professional tool of state.
While still only a lieutenant colonel, this second son of a wealthy and respected family provoked unease in among French military leaders because of his writings about links between the civil and military sides of society (Discord In the Enemy Camp), leadership theory (The Edge of the Sword) and the future of the French military (France and Her Army). He did not stick to the prevailing doctrine of the time.
His insubordination reached its height when he held the rank of brigadier general. He rejected the decision of his commander General Philippe Petain—commander of the armed forces and a French hero of World War One—to surrender to Germany. De Gaulle fled to Britain and formed a government in exile. In a hearing in absentia in 1940, a French military court ordered the death penalty for him. As if that was not enough, it also dismissed him from the armed forces and ordered the seizure of his property.
But history is written by winners. Today, the history of France names General Charles de Gaulle as one of its greatest national heroes, who succeeded in ousting the German occupiers. He was later elected president and served three terms from 1958 to 1968. Under his leadership, France gave independence to a series of colonies, withdrew from the NATO military pact, built a professional armed forces and followed a foreign policy which was far more independent than that of other West European countries. Achievements to be proud of, indeed.
What about Wirahadikusumah? Clearly he is not De Gaulle and Indonesia is not France. But perhaps there is a lesson to be learned about how Indonesia may progress to a brighter future.
If the TNI leadership sacks him because the Indonesian military wants to take Kumbakarna as its model, and defend what they know is wrong out of loyalty, this decision is understandable. Only this decision should be consistent and not just based on likes and dislikes.
The TNI as an organ of state must always respect the head of state as supreme commander-in-chief—without reserve. Those who feel their honest beliefs conflict with orders from the president must get out of the military institution and struggle constitutionally outside the TNI framework. And it is quite clear that President Abdurrahman Wahid’s vision of the military has much in common with that of Wirahadikusumah, whose promotion he pushed earlier this year.
On the other hand, Wirahadikusumah must have a big heart and see his dismissal as a new challenge. If his commitment to transform the TNI into a professional and dedicated army is still high, why can’t he enter the world of politics, as a civilian, to struggle constitutionally for a post that makes it possible for him to realize his goals?
It so happens that Wahid has many choices open to him. Use Wirahadikusumah to transform the TNI if his vision is the same, or leave him outside its walls if it is different.
Democracy is beautiful. Each and every person has the choice to follow the voice of their own heart without fear of being thrown into a cell. Questions of winning and losing are ultimately only relevant for a certain period of office and during the tumult of a general election.
(CM)