Jakarta Military gets new commander<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Maj. Gen. Achmad Yahya has a daunting task ahead him in
\nsafeguarding Jakarta when he takes up his new post as military
\ncommander in the capital city on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Jakarta has witnessed a fragile peace over the past few
\nmonths, although there have been a number of small explosions.<\/p>\n
A small bomb exploded inside the Graha Cijantung Mall near the
\nArmy Special Force (Kopassus) headquarters in East Jakarta on
\nMonday, injuring eight people. Two weeks earlier, a bomb went off
\nin the parking lot of the Jayakarta Hotel in Central Jakarta,
\nseverely injuring four people.<\/p>\n
With his sights set on the upcoming annual session of the
\nPeople's Consultative Assembly (MPR) next month, Yahya warned
\nthat bomb threats and explosions in the capital were taking place
\ndue to weak security.<\/p>\n
\"Given the fact that the police have a limited number of
\npersonnel, the military will assist them maintain security and
\norder here,\" Yahya said after taking over command from Lt. Gen.
\nBibit Waluyo at the Jakarta Military Command headquarters in
\nCililitan, East Jakarta. Bibit has been promoted to become the
\nnew chief of the Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad).<\/p>\n
Yahya's mastery in security affairs was severely tested when
\nas the Sulawesi military commander, a communal conflict broke out
\nin Poso, Central Sulawesi, that left hundreds of people dead and
\nthousands of others displaced. He moved to Jakarta some months
\nafter a peace deal was agreed between the warring groups in Poso.<\/p>\n
He was the Jakarta Military chief of staff when the city was
\nrocked by antigovernment demonstrations which ended up with
\ntroops opening fire on protesting students in November 1998 and
\nSeptember 1999.<\/p>\n
Yahya stressed that current security policy needed review so
\nas to provide the military and police with a clear division of
\npowers and duties.<\/p>\n
\"I think we must reevaluate the current regulations on
\nsecurity and defense. At least such a reevaluation would help us
\navoid further miscommunication between our (military and police)
\npersonnel in the field,\" Yahya, a 1971 graduate of the Armed
\nForces Academy (Akabri), said.<\/p>\n
Asked whether he had a concept for security arrangements
\nduring the August MPR Annual Session, Yahya said: \"I have just
\narrived here. Let me take some time to learn about it first.\"<\/p>\n
Political tension looks set to heighten during the MPR
\nsession, as some political parties may attempt to mobilize their
\nsupporters so as to influence the political process.<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs
\nSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono has also implied that certain armed
\ncivilian groups, believed to be the Islamic Defenders' Front
\n(FPI) and Laskar Jihad, were conducting paramilitary training
\nnear the capital city, and also hinted that \"these activities
\nhave a strong connection with Jakarta's planned political
\nagenda.\"<\/p>\n
Yahya labeled the act of threatening public security as
\nterrorism, which \"the people must fight against.\"<\/p>\n
He further said that there were certain people who would like
\nto see Jakarta reduced to chaos.<\/p>",
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