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Military should defend, not define
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?Military should defend, not define democracy?
>From STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, March. 17. ? The role of the military and the shape of the
armed forces in the new millennium will determine the direction of most
Asian countries. The first session of the Asian News Network?s seminar
on the military?s role in Asian democracies dealt with its changing face
to suit 21st century?s needs. It was inaugurated by the Prime Minister.
The military must defend and not define
democracies, Mr Kusnanto Anggoro from Jakarta?s Centre for Strategic and
International Studies said. The challenge faced by most Asian nations,
specially Indonesia, is how to make the military accountable to the
democratic process.
The session, moderated by The Statesman?s special
representative, Srinjoy Chowdhury, highlighted the fact that the armed
forces have taken on a new role after the collapse of the Soviet Union
and end of the Cold War. They now have to deal with the new threats of
the era, such as territorial disputes, racial, religious and cultural
differences, including confrontations over natural resources, social and
economic interests.
Lt-Gen Pongthep Tesprateep, Royal Thai Army?s
assistant chief of staff for operations, gave an overview of a key new
idea in military technique, known as the Revolution in Military Affairs.
The RMA deals with the use of developments in science and technology to
help search, detect, establish and monitor all target movements in the
operational theatre.
Lt-Gen VR Raghavan (retd), director of Delhi
Policy Group, a leading think tank, said the era of deploying large
military contingents was over, but despite downsizing, the military
remains the best financed and organised organ of most Asian states.
Prof K Bajpai of JNU said civilians should be
better informed about the army, that must get rid of its barracks
mentality.
Mr Pana Janviroj, Bangkok-based The Nation?s chief
editor, gave a breakdown of the status of the military in most Asian
nations, largely favourably placed vis-a-vis the polity, except for the
?black spots? in Myanmar and Pakistan.
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<center><b><u><font color="#000099"><font size=+2>?Military should defend,
not define democracy?</font></font></u></b></center>
<p><font size=+1>From STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE</font>
<p><font size=+1>NEW DELHI, March. 17. ? The role of the military and the
shape of the armed forces in the new millennium will determine the direction
of most Asian countries. The first session of the Asian News Network?s
seminar on the military?s role in Asian democracies dealt with its changing
face to suit 21st century?s needs. It was inaugurated by the Prime Minister.</font>
<br><font size=+1>
The military must defend and not define democracies, Mr Kusnanto Anggoro
from Jakarta?s Centre for Strategic and International Studies said. The
challenge faced by most Asian nations, specially Indonesia, is how to make
the military accountable to the democratic process.</font>
<p><font size=+1>
The session, moderated by The Statesman?s special representative, Srinjoy
Chowdhury, highlighted the fact that the armed forces have taken on a new
role after the collapse of the Soviet Union and end of the Cold War. They
now have to deal with the new threats of the era, such as territorial disputes,
racial, religious and cultural differences, including confrontations over
natural resources, social and economic interests.</font>
<br><font size=+1>
Lt-Gen Pongthep Tesprateep, Royal Thai Army?s assistant chief of staff
for operations, gave an overview of a key new idea in military technique,
known as the Revolution in Military Affairs. The RMA deals with the use
of developments in science and technology to help search, detect, establish
and monitor all target movements in the operational theatre.</font>
<p><font size=+1>
Lt-Gen VR Raghavan (retd), director of Delhi Policy Group, a leading think
tank, said the era of deploying large military contingents was over, but
despite downsizing, the military remains the best financed and organised
organ of most Asian states.</font>
<br><font size=+1>
Prof K Bajpai of JNU said civilians should be better informed about the
army, that must get rid of its barracks mentality.</font>
<br><font size=+1>
Mr Pana Janviroj, Bangkok-based The Nation?s chief editor, gave a breakdown
of the status of the military in most Asian nations, largely favourably
placed vis-a-vis the polity, except for the ?black spots? in Myanmar and
Pakistan.</font>
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