House tells Susilo to give top TNI post to Air Force

House tells Susilo to give top TNI post to Air Force

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has been urged to reconsider
his idea to appoint an Army chief as the new Indonesian Military
(TNI) chief, and instead choose the Air Force chief.

A military source said Susilo would likely appoint Army chief
Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu as the new TNI commander, replacing Army
Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, 57, who has passed the mandatory
retirement age of 55 years old.

The recommendation was apparently aimed at putting an end to
the standoff between the President and the House of
Representatives over the TNI leadership, which ensued when the
House ignored a letter Susilo sent on Oct. 25.

The letter communicated Susilo's intention to revoke former
president Megawati Soekarnoputri's decision to accept the
resignation of Endriartono and to nominate Ryamizard as the new
TNI chief.

The pro-Megawati Nationhood Coalition, led by the Golkar
Party, holds majority seats in the House.

Calls have been mounting for Susilo to annul Ryamizard's
nomination to ensure that the military leadership is passed among
leaders of all forces in rotation.

The Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) said over the
weekend that Susilo must replace all chiefs of staff and select
one as the new military commander, while Susilo needed to confer
the position of TNI chief to the Air Force chief in all fairness.

"The military leadership must be rotated among leaders of all
forces to ensure that the institution is revitalized. The
rotation is also necessary to curb rivalry that might lead to an
internal conflict within the armed forces," said acting executive
director of Imparsial Rachland Nashidik.

Like Endriartono, Navy chief Adm. Bernard Kent Sondakh, 56,
and Air Force chief Marshal Chappy Hakim, 57, are beyond the
mandatory retirement age, while Ryamizard will reach retirement
age in April 2005.

Rachland said Susilo and his administration would be credited
with promoting genuine military reform, if he picked the Air
Force chief as the TNI leader.

Article 14 of the recently endorsed Military Law stipulates
that the position of TNI chief should be appointed in rotation to
the Army, Air Force and Navy.

The president is authorized constitutionally in their capacity
as the TNI supreme commander to appoint a TNI chief pending House
approval.

Rachland said, however, that the President and the House were
both reluctant to implement the rotation scheme, as they had
assumed Ryamizard would be nominated as TNI chief upon
Endriartono's resignation.

House Speaker Agung Laksono said on Friday after a meeting
with the President that Susilo had agreed to the House's
intention to push through Ryamizard's nomination.

"Both Susilo and civilian House legislators still have a
tendency to invite the military to the center stage of politics,"
Rachland said.

Endriartono's appointment by Megawati in 2001 halted the
rotation scheme introduced by her predecessor Abdurrahman Wahid,
who had named Navy chief Adm. Widodo Adisucipto to the top TNI
post in 1999.

Constitutional law experts said Susilo's acceptance of the
House's plan to press ahead with installing Ryamizard showed the
House was fulfilling its supervisory role.

"This indicates effective supervision by the House. If it
plays its supervisory role properly, there will be a better
system of checks and balances," Maria Farida Indrati from the
University of Indonesia said on Sunday.

Fellow expert Sri Soemantri said the House's increasing
supervisory authority was a result of constitutional amendments
that began in 1999.

Under the amended Constitution, the appointment of certain
state officials, including the TNI and National Police chiefs,
requires House approval.

However, Soemantri said the issue of the TNI chief appointment
had changed from a legal into a political one.

Meanwhile, Endriartono is slated to announce a military
reshuffle during a news conference on Monday at TNI headquarters
in Cilangkap, East Jakarta, accompanied by all three chiefs of
staff.

The reshuffle is to include the replacement of all chiefs of
staffs as part of a revitalization effort, a source said.