Reform of the National Police.

The following is the summary of the Feb. 20 report of the Brussels- based International Crisis Group on the National Police.

JAKARTA: In the euphoria at the demise of the New Order, there was an expectation that the 1945 Constitution's declaration that Indonesia was a state based on the rule of law might be resurrected after 40 years of neglect.

The euphoria soon dissipated, however, when the scale of the challenge and the weakness of the first democratically elected government since 1957 became evident.

Reform of particular institutions, like the Indonesian National Police, cannot be implemented in isolation from the other institutions of state. An effective police force will soon be rendered impotent if prosecutors, judges, and prison governors fail in their responsibilities.

Likewise, reform in any of these institutions is unlikely if government revenues are not adequate to pay salaries that meet basic needs and cover the basic resources and …