Agus W.K. removed from Kostrad
Agus W.K. removed from Kostrad
JAKARTA (JP): Lt. Gen. Agus Wirahadikusumah, a controversial
Army figure, was replaced as the chief of the Army Strategic
Reserves Command (Kostrad) on Monday after only four months on
the job.
The announcement by the Indonesian Military (TNI) ended weeks
of speculations about the fate of Agus, whom many insiders regard
as too brash in his campaign to reform the military, to pull it
out of politics and to uproot the alleged corruption of his
seniors.
Agus, 49, is being reassigned to the Indonesian Military (TNI)
headquarters without any specific job.
Chief of the Jakarta Military Command Maj. Gen. Ryamizard
Ryacudu has been appointed to fill the position.
TNI chief spokesman Rear Air Marshall Graito Usodo, who
announced the latest round of reshuffles affecting eight Army
officers, cautioned against reading too much into the changes.
They were made after taking into account organizational needs
and the career development of the officers, he said. "Everybody
can make their own interpretation, but the main reasons are for
personnel and organizational developments," Graito said.
The other new appointments were:
* Maj. Gen. Slamet Kirbiyantoro, currently chief of the
Wirabuana Military Command overseeing Sulawesi, as the new chief
of the Jakarta Military Command.
* Maj. Gen. Achmad Yahya, currently coordinator of the Army's
expert staff, as the new chief of the Wirabuana Command.
* Brig. Gen. Husni Thamrin, currently the Wirabuana Command's
chief of staff, as the coordinator of the Army's expert staff.
* Col. Mustopo, an expert staff member to the Army Chief of
Staff, as the new chief of staff of the Wirabuana Command.
* Brig. Gen. Romulo Simbolon, currently chief of staff of the
Jakarta Military Command, has been reassigned to the TNI
Headquarters without any specific post.
* Col. Lintang Waluyo, currently an Army expert staff member
to the Army Chief of Staff, as the new chief of staff of the
Jakarta Military Command.
Kostrad had already sent out invitations on Monday for the
handover ceremony from Agus to Ryamizard scheduled for Tuesday
morning.
Lt. Gen. Agus W.K., as he is popularly known to distinguish
him from TNI Chief for Territorial Affairs Lt. Agus Widjojo, was
one of the Army and political figures who took part in the
"clandestine" meeting in Bulak Rantai in East Jakarta in April to
push for changes in the Army's leadership.
While top Army officers have gone to great lengths to deny the
existence of such a meeting, most of those who were present have
been removed from their posts, giving credence to the rumors.
Bondan Gunawan, a close aide of President Abdurrahman Wahid,
lost his powerful post as secretary of state. Maj. Gen. Saurip
Kadi, who hosted the meeting, was removed from his job as
territorial assistant to the Army Chief of Staff.
Romulo Simbolon, who lost his job as chief of staff of the
Jakarta Military Command in Monday's reshuffle, also reportedly
took part in that meeting.
Agus' latest maneuver which ired his peers and seniors was the
unveiling of massive corruption in Kostrad that directly
implicated his predecessor, Lt. Gen. Djadja Suparman.
Tempo reported on Monday that the auditing of Kostrad's
finances found many irregularities, including Rp 190 billion
(US$21 million) that was spent by Djadja.
Agus drew attention when he called on the TNI to quit politics
and return soldiers to the barracks in 1998. He was subsequently
banished to Sulawesi as the military chief there, away from the
center of power.
He was again condemned early this by his seniors for openly
criticizing Gen. Wiranto, then coordinating minister for
political affairs, but at Abdurrahman's recommendation, he was
brought back to Jakarta as Kostrad chief in March.
Agus said on Monday he accepted the decision to replace him.
When asked about the reason behind the decision, he believed
that there was some "misunderstanding" about his campaign to
audit Kostrad finances.
"I never leaked the audit results. I never mentioned any
names, or the amount involved. I never referred to them as
corruption, but irregularities," he told reporters.
The decision to replace Agus was made during a meeting of
Wanjakti, a TNI council for high-ranking promotions and duty
rotations, at the recommendation of Army Chief of Staff Gen.
Tyasno Sudarto, Graito said.
TNI Chief Adm. Widodo A.S. and Gen. Tyasno have informed
President Abdurrahman of the decisions, in keeping with the rules
that promotions of senior officers to TNI strategic posts should
be discussed with the head of state beforehand, Graito said.
Agus said he received the official notification from Lt. Gen.
Endriartono Sutarto, the Army's deputy chief of staff on
Saturday. (dja)