Reshuffling TNI<\/p>\n
The changes in the leadership of the Indonesian Military (TNI)
\nas announced on Friday proved to be somewhat of an anticlimax for
\nmost political pundits. Most of their predictions, which kept the
\nmedia busy over the past week, turned out to be widely off the
\nmark.<\/p>\n
All in all, the 102 changes look very much like an ordinary
\nmilitary tour of duty. None of them carry significant political
\nimplications for the institution, which has been under strong
\npressure to carry out thorough internal reforms and to quit the
\npolitical arena.<\/p>\n
Many of the widely rumored changes never materialized. Lt.
\nGen. Agus Wira Hadikusumah, the chief of the Army's Strategic
\nReserves Command and the target of much speculation, keeps his
\njob. Both Army Chief of Staff Gen. Tyasno Sudarto and TNI chief
\nAdmiral Widodo AS also stay where they are. Nothing in the
\nchanges suggest a purge of what pundits call the \"Wiranto
\nclique\", so named after the once-powerful TNI chief.<\/p>\n
Probably the only instance where pundits got it right was the
\nremoval of Maj. Gen. Saurip Kadi from the post of territorial
\nassistant to the Army chief of staff. Saurip, who has been
\nreassigned to Army headquarters without a specific portfolio,
\nhosted in April what has come to be known as the \"Bulak Rantai
\nclandestine meeting\" after the Army officers' housing complex in
\nEast Jakarta.<\/p>\n
While Saurip and other top Army officers have denied that
\nthere was such a meeting, his removal from a key post suggests
\nthere was more to it than his claim that the gathering was held
\nwith close Army friends to mark a recent rank promotion. In the
\nabsence of any credible explanation, his removal will likely
\nbecome the target of even more speculation.<\/p>\n
Another significant appointment announced on Friday was the
\nselection of Col. I Made Yasa, a Hindu Balinese, as chief of the
\nregional military command in Maluku, a province that has been
\nraked by violent conflicts between Muslims and Christians. He
\nreplaces Brig. Gen. Max Markus Tamaela, whom many Muslims feel
\nhad not been impartial in solving the conflict.<\/p>\n
It remains to be seen how well I Made Yasa will do in his new
\nassignment. Indonesia cannot afford another failure. Many people
\nin Maluku are already losing confidence in the ability of the
\ngovernment and the military to end the sectarian conflict.
\nMuslims outside Maluku have sent a jihad force, and many
\nChristians in Maluku have been urging the United Nations to send
\nin a neutral international peacekeeping force.<\/p>\n
While Made Yasa's appointment is very important, it has not
\ngenerated as much public interest as the ongoing political
\nintrigue surrounding the political appointments in TNI. The
\npublic fixation on the political face of TNI, especially the
\nappointment of top jobs, is a legacy of the New Order era, when
\nthe military was an important component of the regime.<\/p>\n
Because of the political power TNI once wielded, speculating
\nabout who is in and who is on his way out in the military has
\nbecome a national pastime. The fact that this fixation still runs
\ndeeply today suggests that the military is still regarded as a
\npowerful political institution, even after its wings have been
\nclipped.<\/p>\n
The power that the military apparently still enjoys makes it a
\ntarget of political intervention by other political groups trying
\nwoo its support. One cannot help feel that in spite of its
\npromise to quit politics, some TNI leaders continue to use their
\npower to further their own political agenda. This is why rumors
\nabout the intrigues within TNI have been rife this past week.<\/p>\n
No matter how many times TNI tries to explain that changes in
\nits top rungs are routine tours of duty, the public will continue
\nto regard them in political terms and think upon the consequences
\nthey have on the country's political life. Some day changes at
\nTNI's top will be accepted by the public for what they are:
\nroutine tours. That day, however, will only come when TNI has
\nleft the political arena completely and become a truly
\nprofessional military force.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/reshuffling-tni-1447899208",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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