TNI chief orders major reshuffle<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto has
\noverseen the first major reshuffle of the armed forces since
\ntaking over last month.<\/p>\n
The reshuffle, based on a decree from the TNI chief dated
\nSaturday but only made public on Monday, involves 142 officers,
\nmost notably Lt. Gen. Bibit Waluyo, who becomes the new commander
\nof the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad).<\/p>\n
There also were changes of the guard at four regional military
\ncommands and the Navy's Western Fleet.<\/p>\n
Among the more well-known figures involved in the reshuffle
\nwas Maj. Gen. Achmad Yahya, who will replace Bibit as the Jakarta
\nMilitary commander. Yahya, a Madura native and a 1971 graduate of
\nthe Armed Forces Academy (Akabri), looks to hold his new post
\nonly briefly, barring any unforeseen events, as he will reach the
\nmandatory retirement age in October next year.<\/p>\n
Yahya, the current chief of the Wirabhuwana Military Command
\noverseeing Sulawesi, is not a new face in the Jakarta Military
\nCommand, serving as the command's chief of staff in 1998.<\/p>\n
The post left vacant by Yahya will be filled by Army's Special
\nForce (Kopassus) chief Maj. Gen. Amirul Isnaeni. This will be the
\nhighest ever territorial posting for Amirul, a 1975 Akabri
\ngraduate who is seen as a rising star in the military.<\/p>\n
Kopassus chief of staff Brig. Gen. Sriyanto will take over
\nfrom Amirul as the commander of the elite force. Sriyanto was an
\nofficer at the North Jakarta Military when security troops shot
\ndead dozens of Muslim protesters in Tanjung Priok in 1984 and the
\nSurakarta Military commander when riot hit the Central Java town
\nin May 1998.<\/p>\n
TNI spokesman Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said this latest
\nreshuffle was in response to changes in the military structure.<\/p>\n
\"Reshuffles usually take place in April and October, but since
\nsome of our officers have reached retirement age we undertook
\nanother reshuffle this month,\" Sjafrie told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
\"The reshuffle is also in answer to the demand for the
\nreorganization of the TNI, as well as to fill several posts that
\nwere left vacant following the previous reshuffle,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The military has undergone major changes over the last few
\nmonths, with the replacement of the three chiefs of staff and the
\nTNI chief. Except for Army chief Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu, all of
\nthe new TNI top brass have reached or are near retirement age.<\/p>\n
At TNI Headquarters, two high-ranking officers, Maj. Gen.
\nTimor P. Manurung, the chief of the legal division, and Rear Adm.
\nJoost F. Mengko, the intelligence assistant to the TNI chief of
\ngeneral affairs, will retire.<\/p>\n
They will be replaced by Brig. Gen. FX Sukiman and Commodore
\nLuthfie, respectively. Luthfie currently is the Director C at the
\nTNI Intelligence Body.<\/p>\n
Lieutenant Gen. Syahrir MS, who heads the Military Education
\nand Training Command in Bandung, West Java, also will retire. He
\nwill be replaced by the head of the Siliwangi Military Command
\noverseeing West Java, Maj. Gen. Darsono, a 1972 Akabri graduate.<\/p>\n
Darsono's command baton will be passed to his chief of staff,
\nBrig. Gen. Iwan Ridwan Sulanjana, who is two years his junior.<\/p>\n
The other regional military commander affected in the latest
\nreshuffle is Maj. Gen. Willem da Costa, the head of the Udayana
\nMilitary Command. He will be assigned to the Army Staff and
\nCommand School in Bandung, leaving his chief of staff, Brig. Gen.
\nAgus Suyitno, to take over.<\/p>\n
In the Navy, Rear Adm. Sumardjono, the commander of the
\nWestern Fleet, will be replaced by Rear Adm. Djoko Sumaryono.<\/p>\n
In the Air Force, Rear Marshal Rukma Susetyasta, the head of
\nthe Eastern Air Command, will replace Rear Marshal Abdullah
\nSjirat as the planning assistant to the Air Force chief.<\/p>\n
While Rear Marshal Herman Prayitno, the governor of the Air
\nForce Academy, will take over for Rear Marshal Teuku Sjahril as
\nhead of the Western Air Command.<\/p>",
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