Hartono installs Soedjasmin as deputy Army chief
Hartono installs Soedjasmin as deputy Army chief
JAKARTA (JP): Army Chief of Staff Gen. R. Hartono yesterday
installed Maj. Gen. F.X. Soedjasmin, who has extensive
territorial experience, as his deputy to replace Lt. Gen.
Soerjadi.
Soedjasmin's position as Army inspector general will be filled
by Maj. Gen. A. Mudjani Syukur, currently the chief of the
Siliwangi Military Command which oversees West Java, according to
Army chief spokesman Brig. Gen. Afifuddin Thaib.
Afifuddin confirmed that Mudjani would head the Officers'
Honorary Council that was established last week to follow up on
the investigation of the killings of six supporters of East
Timor's rebel group last month.
The 36-member council will continue on with the military
investigation report that there was a violation of procedures in
the killings in East Timor's Liquisa regency that has sparked an
international outcry.
Afifuddin said the appointment of Soedjasmin as deputy chief
of staff is the first of a series of changes in the Army's top
leadership since Hartono assumed his post early this month.
Other top posts that will see changes are the chiefs of the
Brawijaya military command in East Java, the Diponegoro command
in Central Java, the Siliwangi Command in West Java, Tanjungpura
military command in Kalimantan and the Trikora command which
oversees Maluku and Irian Jaya provinces.
Afifuddin was able to confirm only two names yesterday:
Brig. Gen. Imam Utomo, the chief of staff of Brawijaya, will
replace Maj. Gen. Haris Soedarno as the command's chief; Brig.
Gen. Yusuf Kartanegara, currently of the Jakarta Garrison, will
replace Lt. Gen. Soeyono, who was recently promoted to chief of
the Armed Forces' General Affairs.
Afifuddin said Soerjadi, who, like his successor Soedjasmin is
53-years old, would remain at the Army headquarters pending
further assignment.
Military sources have earlier said Soerjadi might be up for an
ambassadorial post. He had earlier been one of the front runners
for the Army's top job to succeed Gen. Wismoyo Arismunandar but
lost it to Hartono.
Soedjasmin, born May, 1, 1942 in Salatiga, Central Java, and
from Class 1964 of the National Military Academy, had been the
Army's inspector general since July 1993.
Before this appointment, he spent virtually all his Army
career in territorial assignments.
His previous commanding stints include chief of a military
district in Central Java in 1986, chief of the first division of
the Army's Strategic Reserves Command in 1988, chief of staff of
the Trikora Military Command in 1989, chief of staff of the
Sriwijaya Military Command in 1992 and in the same year was
promoted as chief of the command.
The appointment of Soedjasmin, a Roman Catholic, further
deflates the argument by some military commentators about the
increasing "Islamization" of the Armed Forces (ABRI). The
suggestion was made following the appointment of Hartono, who is
close to the influential kiayis (Moslem local leaders) and the
Association of Moslem Intellectuals, this month.
At the swearing-in ceremony of Soedjasmin yesterday, Gen.
Hartono underlined that the chief task of his deputy is in
coordinating and developing the Army's personnel.
He said such a task requires "art and skill" and believed that
Soedjasmin has the capability to rise to the challenge. (rms)