Endriartono's nomination for TNI top post draws mixed reactions
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
President Megawati Soekarnoputri's nomination of current Army Chief of Staff Gen. Endriartono Sutarto as new commander of the Indonesian Military (TNI) drew on Tuesday mixed reactions from political and military analysts and activists.
Staunch human rights campaigner Hendardi said the decision to nominate Endriartono as the sole candidate had strengthened speculation on the return of conservatism into the President's policy on the powerful military.
"His nomination by the President as the sole candidate is in effect a fait accompli and is intended to preclude public discussion or assessment of other prospective candidates," he said.
The move also strongly indicates that Megawati has striven to emphasize her retention of power rather than reforming the TNI, said Hendardi, director of the Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI).
He said that conservatism within the TNI had surfaced after Endriartono appointed former Jakarta military commander Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, widely accused of involvement in several human rights abuses, as the new Army spokesman.
Leading the powerful Army, Endriartono failed to show "impressive achievement", and even allowed several human rights violations to take place unchecked, Hendardi added.
The worst, he cited, was the murder of Papuan separatist leader Theys Hiyo Eluay last November, which was blamed on members of the Army's Special Force (Kopassus).
Under a system introduced by former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid of rotating the post among the three services, the next TNI commander should have come from the Air Force.
Hendardi said Megawati's repudiation of the rotation agreement has clearly indicated her reliance on the Army to bolster her political control.
Meanwhile, military analyst M.T. Arifin said the current four- star Army chief was the best of the available candidates to head the military.
"Endriartono is known to be a modest man with good capability and close ties to the lower ranks," he was quoted by AFP as saying
J. Kristiadi of the Center for Strategic and International Studies also said Endriartono was a better choice than the other candidate proposed by the military promotions council, former Army chief Gen. Tyasno Sudarno.
"Personally, I see Endriartono as a professional soldier with high acceptability among the ranks of the TNI," he told AFP.
But Kristiadi's colleague at the CSIS Kusnanto Anggoro said Endriartono could "turn authoritarian" if he were not counterbalanced by a strong Army chief.