67 senior Army officers to retire on Monday

JAKARTA (JP): Army Chief of Staff Gen. R. Hartono will lead a military ceremony in the Central Java town of Magelang on Monday to bid farewell to 67 retiring senior officers.

Hartono will also induct 1,000 army cadets from the National Military Academy in Magelang, Army Chief Spokesman Brig. Gen. Robik Mukav said yesterday.

The ceremony will coincide with the academy's 49th anniversary.

The mandatory retirement age for an Army officer is 55. Service can only be extended by President Soeharto, a rarely used prerogative. Gen. Hartono and Armed Forces Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung are the only two active officers whose service has been extended beyond retirement age.

Not all 67 retiring generals would retire from public life although they will no longer be on active duty, Robik said.

Lt. Gen. Moetojib, currently chief of the State Intelligence Coordinating Agency (Bakin), is the only three-star general in the pack, he said. Another 25 hold the rank of major general and 41 are brigadier generals.

Generals who will retire from service but still hold civilian jobs include Maj. Gen. Hadi Baroto, Deputy Attorney General for Intelligence Affairs; Maj. Gen. Sutoyo N.K., Director General for Social and Political Affairs at the Ministry of Home Affairs; Maj. Gen. Iskandar Kamil, a Supreme Court judge; and Maj. Gen. H.R. Pramono, Inspector General at the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Robik said preparations were continuing for a meeting between active and retired Army officers next month.

The date will be decided by the chief of the Army Staff and Command College where the meeting will be held, he said.

Gen. Hartono proposed the meeting because more and more retired senior Army officers have openly criticized the political situation and the Army's role in politics.

About 200 retired officers from different generations, including the first graduates of the college, will attend the meeting.

The invitation list is limited to college alumni. The Army has invited A.H. Nasution, the oldest living retired Army general, to come as an observer, Robik said.

The meeting was originally planned for this month but many retired officers were not available at short notice, he said.

Prominent retired Army officials Gen. (ret.) Soemitro, former chief of the powerful Internal Security Agency (Kopkamtib) and former Minister of Defense Gen. (ret) M. Yusuf are expected to attend.

Robik said the meeting would hear suggestions for improving the Army from retired officers. "We, as their juniors, will listen carefully and take note of their suggestions," he said. (imn)