Agus, Saurip may face disciplinary charges<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Controversial Army officers Lt. Gen. Agus
\nWirahadikusumah and Maj. Gen. Saurip Kadi may soon face
\ndisciplinary action, as rumors swirl that the pair will be
\nbrought before an Officers Honorary Council.<\/p>\n
Both men were summoned by the Army leadership on Tuesday to
\nexplain their recent actions: Agus for being absent without leave
\n(AWOL) and Saurip for publishing a book about the military's
\nactivities without the Army's permission.<\/p>\n
They were questioned by Deputy Chief of Staff Lt. Gen.
\nEndiartono Sutarto, the assistant for security affairs to the
\nchief of staff, Maj. Gen. ID Putu Rai, and the assistant for
\npersonnel affairs, Maj. Gen. Suprapto.<\/p>\n
Agus lost his post as chief of the Army Strategic Reserves
\nCommand (Kostrad) in August in the middle of an investigation
\ninto allegations of corruption in the command by his
\npredecessors.<\/p>\n
Saurip was the assistant for territorial affairs to the Army
\nchief of staff until April, when he lost his post amid rumors
\nthat he took part in a clandestine meeting to plan massive
\nchanges in the military leadership.<\/p>\n
Brig. Gen. FX Bachtiar, chief spokesman for the Army,
\nconfirmed the two men answered summonses on Tuesday, but declined
\nto say whether an Officers Honorary Council would be called to
\nfollow up the questioning.<\/p>\n
He dismissed speculation the questioning of the two generals
\nwas politically motivated, stressing that this was part of the
\nArmy's efforts to establish discipline among officers.<\/p>\n
An Army source, however, said an honorary council had been set
\nup and its lineup would be announced next week.<\/p>\n
According to unconfirmed media reports, 46 Army generals
\nsigned a petition threatening to resign en masse if Agus was
\nappointed to replace Gen. Tyasno Sudarto as Army chief of staff.<\/p>\n
In Yogyakarta, Minister of Defense Muh. Mahfud M.D. said on
\nSaturday President Abdurrahman Wahid might announce the names of
\nseveral new chiefs of staff on Monday.<\/p>\n
Declining to reveal the names, Mahfud said Agus would not be
\namong the new appointees.<\/p>\n
\"Who is Agus anyway? Why should anyone be afraid of him? He is
\nnothing,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Agus has denied any wrongdoing, telling The Jakarta Post on
\nFriday his recent trip to the United States to attend his son's
\ngraduation from Ohio State University was made with the knowledge
\nof his superiors in the Army.<\/p>\n
The 1973 graduate of the National Military Academy admitted,
\nhowever, the documents approving his leave were not ready when he
\nleft the country on Aug. 22.<\/p>\n
Besides charging him with being AWOL, several Army generals
\nhave accused him of using his visit to the United States to lobby
\nfor the top Army post in Washington and attempting to meet with
\nPresident Abdurrahman, who was in New York to attend the UN
\nMillennium Summit.<\/p>\n
Agus called the allegations slanderous. \"I swear in the name
\nof God that I was not in the U.S. for political lobbying. You may
\nask the military attache at the Indonesian Embassy in Washington,
\nwho was with me most of the time I was there.\"<\/p>\n
Agus said he also was questioned by the Army leadership about
\nhis decision to send a company of Kostrad troops to Bengkulu
\nwithout first coordinating with military headquarters when the
\nprovince was struck by a massive earthquake in June.<\/p>\n
Regarding this charge, Agus said he had delegated the
\nauthority to coordinate with headquarters to his chief of staff
\nMaj. Gen. SN Suwisma.<\/p>\n
Many military observers agree that Agus stepped on many
\npeople's toes, including when he exposed the alleged Rp 189
\nbillion corruption in a Kostrad foundation before the
\ninvestigation was completed.<\/p>\n
He denied this charge, saying at the time he was only
\nresponding to questions from journalists about the progress of
\nthe investigation.<\/p>\n
\"Should I hide from the public the irregularities and
\ncorruption that occurred in the foundation?\" Agus asked.<\/p>\n
Separately, Saurip said he had done nothing improper in
\npublishing the book TNI dan Masa Depan (TNI and the Future)
\nwithout the permission of Army headquarters.<\/p>\n
He said numerous books were published by active and retired
\nofficers without the Army's authorization.<\/p>\n
His book, which examines the Army's alleged involvement in
\nseveral controversial events in the past, including the murders
\nof labor activist Marsinah and journalist Udin, is now being
\nexamined by the Army Directorate of Law, which will determine
\nwhether its publication violated regulations. (02\/swa)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/agus-saurip-may-face-disciplinary-charges-1447893297",
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