Abdurrahman to install new Army chief of staff

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid will install Lt. Gen. Tyasno Sudarto as the new Army chief of staff on Saturday, Indonesian Military (TNI) spokesman Maj. Gen. Sudrajat said on Friday.

Tyasno, who currently heads the Military Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS), will replace Gen. Subagyo Hadisiswoyo, who will then be installed as an aide to the President, Sudrajat said.

Sudrajat did not give a date for the handover of the post, but another military source said the ceremony would take place on Dec. 2.

Subagyo also confirmed the changing of the guard in the Army, but refused to go into details.

"I have yet to receive the order, but Insya Allah (God willing) it will not take time," Subagyo said after installing the new chief of the Jakarta Military Command Maj. Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu, who replaced Maj. Gen. Djadja Suparman at the city military headquarters earlier on Friday.

Subagyo took the Army's top post in February last year, replacing Gen. Wiranto, who is now Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs.

Tyasno, 51, graduated from the Army Academy (AKABRI) in 1970. He served as the social and political affairs assistant to the Jakarta Military Command in 1995, the director of the Armed Forces Intelligence Board (BIA) in 1996 and an assistant for planning and budgeting to the Army chief of staff from 1996 to April 1998.

He then replaced his AKABRI classmate Subagyo as chief of Diponegoro Military Command overseeing Central Java before being moved to the expanded BAIS in January this year.

When asked about media reports on the transfer of duty in the State Intelligence Coordinating Board (Bakin), Sudrajat said he was uninformed about the issue.

"The decision to replace the chief of Bakin is the President's privilege, and I have no information on it," Sudrajat said as quoted by Antara.

A high-ranking official at the Ministry of Defense said that head of the military's security and law enforcement affairs Lt. Gen. Arie J. Kumaat would take over from Lt. Gen. (ret) ZA Maulani as the new Bakin chief. (01/gis)