Jakarta Military gets new commander

Jakarta Military gets new commander

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Maj. Gen. Achmad Yahya has a daunting task ahead him in
safeguarding Jakarta when he takes up his new post as military
commander in the capital city on Thursday.

Jakarta has witnessed a fragile peace over the past few
months, although there have been a number of small explosions.

A small bomb exploded inside the Graha Cijantung Mall near the
Army Special Force (Kopassus) headquarters in East Jakarta on
Monday, injuring eight people. Two weeks earlier, a bomb went off
in the parking lot of the Jayakarta Hotel in Central Jakarta,
severely injuring four people.

With his sights set on the upcoming annual session of the
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) next month, Yahya warned
that bomb threats and explosions in the capital were taking place
due to weak security.

"Given the fact that the police have a limited number of
personnel, the military will assist them maintain security and
order here," Yahya said after taking over command from Lt. Gen.
Bibit Waluyo at the Jakarta Military Command headquarters in
Cililitan, East Jakarta. Bibit has been promoted to become the
new chief of the Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad).

Yahya's mastery in security affairs was severely tested when
as the Sulawesi military commander, a communal conflict broke out
in Poso, Central Sulawesi, that left hundreds of people dead and
thousands of others displaced. He moved to Jakarta some months
after a peace deal was agreed between the warring groups in Poso.

He was the Jakarta Military chief of staff when the city was
rocked by antigovernment demonstrations which ended up with
troops opening fire on protesting students in November 1998 and
September 1999.

Yahya stressed that current security policy needed review so
as to provide the military and police with a clear division of
powers and duties.

"I think we must reevaluate the current regulations on
security and defense. At least such a reevaluation would help us
avoid further miscommunication between our (military and police)
personnel in the field," Yahya, a 1971 graduate of the Armed
Forces Academy (Akabri), said.

Asked whether he had a concept for security arrangements
during the August MPR Annual Session, Yahya said: "I have just
arrived here. Let me take some time to learn about it first."

Political tension looks set to heighten during the MPR
session, as some political parties may attempt to mobilize their
supporters so as to influence the political process.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has also implied that certain armed
civilian groups, believed to be the Islamic Defenders' Front
(FPI) and Laskar Jihad, were conducting paramilitary training
near the capital city, and also hinted that "these activities
have a strong connection with Jakarta's planned political
agenda."

Yahya labeled the act of threatening public security as
terrorism, which "the people must fight against."

He further said that there were certain people who would like
to see Jakarta reduced to chaos.