Army chief knows nothing of Aceh military command

Army chief knows nothing of Aceh military command

Tiarma Siboro
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

New controversy has shrouded the government's plan to
reinstate the military command in restive Aceh, after Army Chief
of Staff Gen. Endriartono Sutarto admitted he had no knowledge of
the issue.

"I don't understand (about the plan). I don't even know
whether the reestablishment of the military command in Aceh is
required. The Indonesian Military (TNI) headquarters itself has
yet to ask us (the Army headquarters) to talk about it,"
Endriartono told reporters at the Army headquarters.

Pending the formal request from the TNI, the Army will not
take any measures related to the plan.

As the Army chief, Endriartono oversees all regional military
commands in the country.

The central government said its intention to revive the
Iskandar Muda military command in Aceh was aimed at empowering
the Indonesian Military in attempts to handle the feisty
separatist movement in the province.

The plan surfaced following the imposition of the Law of
Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam on Jan. 1, which gives more power to the
local government.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono earlier said that the structure for the
military command already existed and the current operational
command post would serve as the new military command.

Susilo said that there were enough military troops to fill the
jobs when the Aceh military command officially begins its
service. He also said while preparations get underway, the
government was calculating the budget for the plan.

Military sources have disclosed that the Aceh military command
will be inaugurated on Feb. 10.

But Endriartono did not take the government's optimism about
the prospect of the new military command for granted.

"The Army has yet to make any preparatory measures, including
choosing the recruitment system of soldiers to be placed in
Aceh."

"It's a political decision at the TNI headquarters level.
Should the TNI chief order me to take necessary steps to help the
plan to materialize, I'll do it."

The Army oversaw 17 military commands across the nation until
the then Armed Forces chief Gen. L.B. Moerdani cut the number to
10 in 1986.

Following the prolonged sectarian conflict in Maluku which
first erupted in 1998, the government, under former president
B.J. Habibie, reestablished the Pattimura Military command
overseeing Maluku in 1999. The islands previously came under
supervision of the Trikora Military command stationed in the
Papua capital of Jayapura.

At that time, former Armed Forces chief Gen. (ret) Wiranto
also proposed the reestablishment of the military command in
Aceh.

Military Command Supervised areas

Bukit Barisan Aceh, Riau, and West Sumatra
Sriwilaya South Sumatra, Bengkulu,

Lampung, Jambi, Bangka Belitung
Tanjung Pura Kalimantan
Wirabuana Sulawesi
Siliwangi West Java and Banten
Diponegoro Central Java and Yogyakarta
Brawijaya East Java
Trikora Papua
Pattimura Maluku and North Maluku
Udayana Bali and Nusa Tenggara
Greater Jakarta Greater Jakarta