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.