Human rights group criticizes latest TNI reshuffle
Human rights group criticizes latest TNI reshuffle
Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta
The appointment of Army Special Forces (Kopassus) commander
Maj. Gen. Sriyanto Muntrasan as the new commander of the high
profile Siliwangi Military Command overseeing West Java drew
strong criticism from a human rights group and expert.
Coordinator of the National Commission for Missing Persons and
Victims of Violence (Kontras) Usman Hamid said policy makers at
Indonesian Military (TNI) headquarters are supposed to take into
consideration the track record of their senior officers with
regard to human rights when they are being promoted.
Meanwhile, analyst Ikrar Nusa Bakti of the Indonesian
Institute of Sciences (LIPI) said that promoting a controversial
figure like Sriyanto reflected the prevailing narrow thinking of
the TNI on human rights values and the failure of the TNI's much
touted internal reform measures.
The two were commenting on a major reshuffle in the TNI that
was announced over the weekend, affecting 42 high-ranking
officers. The appointment of Sriyanto to the Siliwangi Military
Command has raised many eyebrows due to his alleged involvement
in human rights violations in the past.
Sriyanto was chief of operations at the North Jakarta Military
Command when the Tanjung Priok incident occurred in 1988, when
troops open fire on demonstrators, killing 24 people and injuring
54 others, according to official figures.
Last year, Sriyanto stood trial before the ad hoc human rights
tribunal, but the panel of judges acquitted him of all charges in
November. The Attorney General's Office plans to appeal to the
Supreme Court, meaning that the legal process is still ongoing.
Another controversial figure being promoted is Col. Chairawan,
a senior Koppasus officer. Although his name was not included in
the list of 42 officers announced on Saturday, Army spokesman
Hotmangaradja Pandjaitan confirmed on Sunday rumors that
Chairawan would be appointed as the new commander of the
Lilawangsa Military Resort overseeing northern Aceh trough to
eastern Aceh.
"Nasution will be replaced by Chairawan," Hotma told The Post.
Chairawan, who will replace Col. Azmyn Yusri Nasution, has
been grounded for years following the kidnappings of pro-
democracy activists in late 1990s.
The TNI in 2003 launched a massive offensive against Free Aceh
Movement insurgents, who has been fighting for sovereignty for
the oil and gas-rich Aceh province for decades. There have been
concerns that continuing violence involving GAM and the TNI could
disrupt distribution of relief aid in the tsunami-hit province.
Usman said that although President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
could not interfere in the reshuffle process affecting two-star
generals and other officers below that rank, "he should not turn
a blind eye, unless he also cares little about human rights
issues."
He expressed the fear that the promotion of the two
controversial senior officers to strategic posts was a further
sign of their impunity even at a time when rights groups were
still pressing for legal cases against the two for past rights
violations.