Controversy as Sjafrie given key defense post

Controversy as Sjafrie given key defense post

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Ministry of Defense announced on Thursday a major reshuffle
that has seen Indonesian Military (TNI) spokesman Maj. Gen.
Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin take up the key post of secretary-general.

The appointment of Sjafrie, who has been linked to human
rights violations in Jakarta and East Timor, comes as defense
minister Juwono Sudarsono steps up efforts to restore full
military ties between Indonesia and the United States.

A decree on the reshuffle, signed by President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono late on Wednesday, also assigned Juwono to take over
the work of outgoing director general of defense planning Mas
Widjaja, pending the appointment of his replacement.

Defense ministry spokesman A. Aziz Manaf, who unveiled the
reshuffle, would not disclose the reason why the President was
keeping the post vacant. Indra Djati Sidi, currently the director
general of primary and secondary education at the Ministry of
National Education, was earlier assumed to be a candidate to fill
Widjaja's shoes.

As a result of the reshuffle, Maj. Gen. Dadi Susanto, who is
intelligence assistant to TNI's chief of general affairs Vice
Marshal Wartoyo, was named director general of defense strategy,
replacing Maj. Gen. (ret) Sudrajat. Dadi was the defense attache
at the Indonesian Embassy in the U.S. in 2000.

The director general of defense empowerment at the defense
ministry, Rear Marshal Pitter Watimena, was shifted to the
Directorate General of Procurement, replacing Maj. Gen. (ret)
Aqlani Maza. Pitter's old post went to Brig. Gen. Suryadi.

"The reshuffle was conducted in coordination with the ministry
and TNI headquarters." Aziz said.

Apart from the structural appointments, Juwono also picked
businessman Adnan Gantoe and former National Resilience Institute
governor Lt. Gen. (ret) Sofyan Effendi as his economic and
military advisors respectively.

Juwono will install the new officials on Friday.

Adnan Gantoe is an Aceh native who now runs Morgan Bank, while
Sofyan once served as Aceh military commander.

Rights activist Usman Hamid of the National Commission for
Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said the
reshuffle was a reflection of the government's failure to promote
internal reform within the military.

"It has maintained the impunity for controversial military
officers with poor human rights track records," Usman said,
referring to Sjafrie.

Sjafrie was the Jakarta military commander when the capital
was hit by ethnic riots that led to the ouster of former dictator
Soeharto in May 1998. Thousands died in the rampage. Sjafrie also
served in East Timor when widespread violence broke out after the
autonomy plebiscite in 1999.

Commenting on the criticism, Sjafrie said: "It doesn't matter.
The public will see who is right. The most important thing for me
is that the accusations have never been proven, even outside a
court."

He said he would focus on helping the ministry draw up broad
national defense policies.

Deputy chairman of House Commission I for defense Effendy
Choirie expected Sjafrie's appointment would not affect
Indonesia's efforts in seeking the lifting of the U.S. arms
embargo, which has been in effect since the Santa Cruz cemetery
massacre in Dili, East Timor in 1991.