President tells military officers to remain loyal<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid issued a blunt
\nwarning saying that discontent Indonesian Military (TNI) officers
\nmust remain loyal and obey his commands or face the axe.<\/p>\n
The president said he could understand the rumblings of some
\nofficers unsatisfied with his leadership, but warned that
\nobedience was paramount if they wished to retain their posts.<\/p>\n
Speaking to journalists at Bina Graha presidential office on
\nWednesday, Abdurrahman vowed that he would not rebuke these
\nofficers as long as they did not publicly challenge him or
\norganize antigovernment movements.<\/p>\n
"Although they are rather discontented, as long as I see they
\nare obeying orders, I allow them to stay in their posts," said
\nthe President.<\/p>\n
According to the President, all TNI soldiers should realize
\nthat it will be better for their own interests to be loyal to the
\nlegitimate government.<\/p>\n
The President also played down his previous allegation during
\na Tuesday television talkshow that several of the country's 16
\nregional military commanders (Pangdam) were trying to assemble
\nantigovernment forces.<\/p>\n
In apparent recognition of the controversy he stirred,
\nAbdurrahman seemed to play down his previous statement by saying
\nthat only one commander was dissatisfied with the prevailing
\nsituation and that this general had not made any antigovernment
\nmoves.<\/p>\n
"About the Pangdam, he did not mobilize forces. But he did
\nsummon several people and made a lengthy statement about me,
\nabout disagreeing with my policies. It's his own business," the
\nPresident remarked.<\/p>\n
The President refused to name the general but he made it clear
\nthat Jakarta Military chief Maj. Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu and
\nMaluku military chief Brig. Gen. Max Tamaela should not be
\nsuspected as the general in question.<\/p>\n
When pressed further to disclose a name, the President simply
\nreplied: "I am not a Malay Intel who discloses everything he
\nknows."<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman also dismissed reports that several senior
\ngenerals had threatened to resign in protest against his
\ninterference in internal military affairs.<\/p>\n
Kopassus<\/p>\n
The President further disclosed that in his capacity as TNI's
\nsupreme commander, he was studying suggestions of a possible
\n"repositioning" of the elite Army's Special Troops (Kopassus).<\/p>\n
He said he had ordered a trusted official to lead the study on
\nKopassus before making a decision whether to enlarge or to trim
\nit down.<\/p>\n
"There is an opinion that Kopassus must be slimmed down, but
\nthere is also a view to maintain its current position. I must
\nfirst see the study," he noted.<\/p>\n
Kopassus has been put in hot water after a special military
\ntribunal sentenced 11 of its personnel to between 12 months and
\n22 months last year for abducting student activists in the
\ntwilight of former president Soeharto's tenure in 1997.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, TNI deputy chief Gen. Fachrul Rozi told journalists
\non Wednesday that he had met Abdurrahman to assure him that there
\nwas not a single soldier, including regional commanders, who is
\nnot loyal to the President.<\/p>\n
The general said he met the president to personally assure him
\njust a few hours after Tuesday's televised interview.<\/p>\n
"I have conveyed to him my confidence that it is impossible
\nfor an officer or Pangdam to be unloyal to the President,"
\nFachrul said after accompanying Abdurrahman during a meeting with
\nChina's Army deputy chief Lt. Gen. Qian Shugen at Bina Graha.
\n(prb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/president-tells-military-officers-to-remain-loyal-1447893297",
"image": ""
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