Jakarta Governor and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle presidential candidate Joko Widodo lacks close ties to the military. (SP Photo/Joanito De Saojoao)
Jakarta. The Indonesian government was controlled by the military from 1966 to 1998 under the reign of four-star general turned authoritarian president Suharto.
Suharto's 32-year iron-fisted rule was supported by a military which was feared by many critics and activists, who saw many of their colleagues kidnapped as the regime tried to silence them.
The military's strong grip on the country's administration is still fresh in the people's mind and activists have been calling on the public to not elect presidential candidates that have links to the Suharto regime or to the military due to their notorious human rights violations.
However, on Wednesday analysts were surprised to hear rumors that former State Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief A.M. Hendropriyono would be named as the head of the campaign team for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle's (PDI-P) presidential candidate, Joko Widodo.
The Jakarta Globe tried to contact Hendropriyono to confirm the news, but he did not return calls or answer messages.
Analysts warned that the appointment of Hendropriyono as the head of Joko's campaign team could backfire on the Jakarta governor and would lead people to question his commitment to human rights.
The electorate would further question Joko's democratic credentials if he picked someone from the military such as former Army chief of staff Ryamizard Ryacudu as his running mate in the July presidential election.
Ryamizard recently said that he continued to maintain good relations with the PDI-P and he was ready to become Joko's vice president.
If all this were true, it could be a sign that military power would be returning to the republic after a 16-year hiatus.
Maruarar Sirait, a senior PDI-P official, told the Globe that his party had made no decision about Hendropriyono heading up Joko's campaign team.
However, Maruarar praised Hendropriyono's abilities.
"He has great experience and a wide network," he said.
"In addition we have our own parameters in deciding who is the best person to take charge. Right now, the decision is fully in the hands of Megawati [Soekarnoputri, the PDI-P chairwoman] and Surya Paloh [chairman of the PDI-P-allied National Democrat Party, or NasDem]. We trust Megawati with this matter," he said.
Double-edged sword
Yunarto Wijaya, a political expert with Charta Politika, a think tank, said that Hendropriyono could be a double-edged sword, either benefitting or hurting Joko's election chances.
"On the one hand, human rights activists see him in a negative way because he showed a reluctance to resolve human rights cases when he was at the helm of the BIN," Yunarto said.
Back in 2004, Indonesia's most prominent human rights activist, Munir Said Thalib was murdered on board a flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam.
Munir's death remains a mystery until today. Hendropriyono, who succeeded Muchdi Purwoprandjono as the chief of BIN after the murder took place, was widely criticized for his reluctance to investigate the case. Muchdi, who was implicated in the poisoning plot, was tried for the murder and later acquitted.
"Joko's commitment to human rights will be questioned, especially by activists," Yunarto said.
"On the other hand, Joko also needs military figures to support him to win the election."
Yunarto said Joko would need some military backing as he goes toe-to-toe with presidential candidate from the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), Prabowo Subianto, a former head of the Indonesian Army's Special Forces, or Kopassus.
Yunarto said that within the political context, it was realistic for the PDI-P to invite both civilians and military figures to support its presidential bid.
"To fight a military force, Joko tactically needs military men who understand military strategies to support his political moves. He needs figures who understand how to deal with Prabowo," he said.
"Furthermore, it's well known that Hendropriyono has close ties with Megawati and the PDI-P. So it would not be a surprise if later he is included in Joko's presidential campaign team.
"This is not about Hendropriyono joining the campaign team or not, but in a democratic process all areas of society should unite. We can't prohibit military figures from joining a campaign team," Yunarto said.
"This is also a matter of perception, because each faction has their own interests based on the values they are fighting for," he added.
But Yunarto cautioned that going forward, Indonesian politics needed to move away from the idea that military figures made for the best leaders.
Careful steps
Ikrar Nusa Bhakti, a researcher with the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said the PDI-P should think carefully about the people it wanted to join Joko's team, to prevent a voter backlash.
"Joko's presidential campaign team members need to be considered very carefully," he said.
"The smallest mistake could create a negative impact for Joko. That's why the PDI-P has to calculate everything," he added.
Commenting on the Hendropriyono rumors, Ikrar said the former spy chief's appointment would be no guarantee Joko would win the election, but agreed the PDI-P could use an ex-military man to counter Prabowo's influence.
"Including Hendropriyono in the campaign team could be seen as a balancing move for Joko to face his rival from Gerindra. However, it could also serve as a minus point for Joko," he said.
"Hendropriyono knows Prabowo well," he went on.
"Hendropriyono was also a member of Kopassus but is among those who don't want to see Prabowo become president. Now the question is, will that stance remain, and for how long?" Ikrar said.
Ikrar doubted that attracting military figures like Ryamizard or an intelligence figure such as Hendropriyono would benefit Joko.
"In 2004, Hendropriyono was part of Megawati's campaign team, but she failed to win the election," he said.
"There is no guarantee that the presence of military figures in the government can make the government better. There is no guarantee for that.
"Unlike President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Ryamizard has never served as a minister. At least Yudhoyono had ministerial experience before moving into the State Palace," he said.
"Ryamizard's experience is limited only in the military. If he becomes Joko's running mate and wins the election, will Ryamizard be able to help Joko solve problems faced by the administration?
"Choosing a military figure as a running mate is an old-school viewpoint. What Joko needs is a running mate with administrative experience in running a country, who has an understanding of foreign affairs and knows something about the economy," Ikrar said.
A backlash
Haris Azhar, coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), said that accepting Hendropriyono or any other figure with a "questionable" track record to be in his campaign team could prove to be a bad move for Joko.
"If Hendropriyono is included in Joko's campaign team, there is bound to be a backlash. It will disrupt Joko's image," he said.
"Having a commitment to fight human rights violations and including Hendropriyono in his campaign team is such an irrational choice," he said.
"It is a big question. Regarding his background, Hendropriyono is not a person who has the capacity to come up with winning strategies for any presidential candidate.
"It will potentially damage Joko's chances of winning," Haris added.
He stressed that if Joko went on to win the election, he may well struggle to investigate past human rights abuses, knowing he had influential people alongside him with a strong military DNA.
"If Joko wins, it will be a burden for him. He will not be able to solve cases of human rights violations such as Munir's death," Haris said.
"This has to be a wake-up call for Joko. He is popular in his own right and it is clear from his popularity and his consistently high poll results, the electorate sees him as a fresh man in politics with fresh ideas.
"If he gets involved with former military men, that can only hurt his image and just reinforce the idea that he will be going into this race not as a politician with his own vision and mission, but as someone else's puppet," he said.
Hendropriyono was in the news recently when he was inaugurated as a professor in the field of intelligence at the College of National Intelligence.
Tellingly, in the audience to see the former intelligence chief receive his new title were Joko, Megawati and Wiranto, a former military commander and the presidential candidate from the People's Conscience Party (Hanura).
