Gus Dur says he will not meddle in military affairs

Gus Dur says he will not meddle in military affairs

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid again insisted that
he never had any intention of dismissing Army Chief of Staff Gen.
Endriartono Sutarto, while his spokesman Yahya C. Staquf said
that the President would not interfere in the military's internal
organization.

Speaking to reporters at Merdeka Palace, his official
residence, the President denied that he planned to replace
Sutarto with former Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad)
chief Lt. Gen. Agus Wirahadikusumah, saying that he had not met
with Agus since the latter's dismissal from his post last year.

The President did not neglect to blame the press for carrying
baseless reports.

"I would like to say it's all merely rumors," Abdurrahman
commented on the reports of Sutarto's replacement.

Separately, Yahya, who was asked by the President on Monday to
respond to questions concerning the military, hinted that the
President would only replace military personnel based on the
military's existing procedures.

According to Yahya, the President wants the military to manage
its own internal organization and he will confine himself to
endorsing their decisions.

"The President makes personnel changes within the TNI
(Indonesian Military) using the general mechanisms," Yahya said.

According to People's Consultative Assembly Decree No. VII,
issued in August of last year, the President must get the prior
approval of the House of Representatives to replace and to
appoint the chiefs of the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the
police. The Army, Navy and Air Force are not covered by the
decree, which means the President is free to intervene in their
personnel matters.

Amid persistent rumors about the fate of several members of
the military's top brass, including Sutarto and the Kostrad
commander Lt. Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu, Kostrad put on a strong
show of force on Saturday, declaring the Army's loyalty to the
people.

At the same time, the chairman of the Association of
Indonesian Ex-servicemen (Pepabri), Gen. (ret) Try Sutrisno, also
led 124 retired generals in expressing their support for the
incumbent military leadership. Try is Ryamizard's father-in-law.

"The reports about the President's wanting to replace some
senior officers and to promote a number of others, including
Agus, are completely unfounded," said Yahya.

Meanwhile, Air Force Chief of Staff Marshall Hanafie Asnan
eventually followed the Army and Navy chiefs in voicing
opposition to the President's reported plan to declare a state of
emergency and dissolve the House of Representatives.

The chief of the Air Force, which has been able to
rehabilitate its reputation, which was tarnished during the
alleged coup attempt by the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) in
1965, appeared to adopt a more cautious stance, however.

"The Indonesian Air Force will not take sides in political
issues. Our stance is the same as the stance of the TNI
commander ... so you had better ask him," Hanafie said before
hurrying to his car after attending a ceremony at Merdeka Palace.

Separately, the vocal Minister of Defense, Mahfud M.D.,
described the reports about a state of emergency and a plan to
dissolve the House as being based on distorted information.

The minister again hinted that many parties, including the
media and the Cabinet, were allowing themselves to be influenced
by rumors.

"There were rumors that the decree had been signed. What was
even crazier was that the decree was reportedly supported by the
Navy and Army chiefs," Mahfud said. (dja)