Endriartono controls top two posts

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Army Chief of Staff Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said here on Friday that he would temporarily carry out the duties of the vacant deputy chief post of the Army until the appointment of a new officer.

The Council for High Ranking Promotions and Duty Rotation (Wanjakti) was selecting the new officer, he said.

Deputy Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Kiki Syahnakri relinquished his post on Friday after turning 55, the retirement age, last month.

Endriartono refused to reveal the timeline for the widely expected military (TNI) reshuffle.

"The TNI chief (Adm. Widodo A.S.) has reported to the President that the appointment of my deputy has a strong connection to the next TNI reshuffle," he told reporters after presiding over the handover ceremony from Kiki to himself at the Army Headquarters in Central Jakarta.

Unlike Army chief of staff appointments which need a presidential approval, the deputy chief of staff appoinment needs only a report to the President.

In the recent TNI duty rotation, the Wanjakti had reportedly picked up Maj. Gen. Hary Kosasih, the operation assistant to the Army Chief of Staff, to replace Kiki. There was no explanation as to why Wanjakti's decision had been dropped.

A former Udayana Military commander, Kiki was the dark horse in the race for the Army's second post. He was believed to be recommended by Megawati Soekarnoputri who was the country's vice president at the time.

Kiki, who was a 1971 graduate of the Armed Forces Academy (AKABRI), surged to prominence when he was picked up by former Armed Forces commander Gen. (ret) Wiranto to head the East Timor security restoration in 1999.

Pro-Jakarta militias had earlier devastated the region following the announcement of the vote result by the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) declaring victory for the pro-independence group.

Vacating posts are not unusual in the Army.

When Endriartono was officially assigned to the Army's top slot in 2000 replacing Gen. Tyasno Sudarto, he had to wait for a long time before he got a deputy reportedly due to stiff competition among the Army's high ranking officers.

Endriartono, at the time, insisted that the deputy chief post was crucial because of its function as a coordinator of all the Army's staff members.