JP/4/TNI

JP/4/TNI

Tiarma Siboro
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

The appointment of Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad)
chief Lt. Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu as the new Army chief has
wrapped up a key reshuffle in the Indonesian Military (TNI).

But while Ryamizard will fully take up his new job on
Thursday, his predecessor, Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, will have to
wait until he receives the command baton from outgoing TNI chief
Adm. Widodo A.S.

TNI spokesman Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said, after
announcing the latest reshuffle on Monday, that Widodo would
issue a decree that will withdraw Endriartono to the TNI
Headquarters as senior officer without portfolio, pending his
inauguration by President Megawati Soekarnoputri as the new TNI
commander.

Megawati is scheduled to install Ryamizard on Tuesday, while
the transfer of duty from Endriartono to Ryamizard will take
place at a ceremony at the Senayan parking lot on Thursday.

The reason for this unusual practice remained a mystery as of
Monday evening when TNI's high-ranking promotions and duty
rotation board (Wanjakti) completed its meeting to select
officers who will replace Ryamizard as Kostrad chief and fill the
deputy Army chief post, which had been held by Endriartono since
the retirement of Lt. Kiki Syahnakrie in April.

Sjafrie brushed aside speculation of political maneuvering in
the appointment of Ryamizard, saying that "the decision was
merely made for the sake of the organization and personnel
reasons."

While approving Ryamizard's appointment as the new Army chief,
Megawati acknowledged Endriartono's performance.

"The President expressed her grateful thanks to Gen.
Endriartono for his dedication to the nation during his term of
service as the Army chief," Sjafrie said.

Neither Endriartono nor Ryamizard, who met at the Army
Headquarters when the latest reshuffle was announced, would
comment on the matter.

Military analyst Ikrar Nusa Bakti of the National Institute of
Sciences (LIPI) questioned the rare practice, in view of the fact
that Endriartono was the sole candidate for the TNI chief post
forwarded by Megawati to the House of Representatives.

"In the military tradition, the transfer of duty always moves
from the higher level to the lower. It's quite difficult for me
to understand why Megawati did not install Endriartono as TNI
chief before installing Ryamizard," Ikrar told The Jakarta Post.

He said Endriartono, who had his term of office extended by
another five years, ought automatically to retire if he no longer
held any strategic post.

"Of course, becoming a senior army officer without portfolio
is very unexpected for Endriartono," Ikrar said.

But Ikrar was doubtful if Megawati would back down on her own
decision to name Endriartono the TNI chief, saying it would only
damage her reputation.

Sjafrie said Megawati had approved Ryamizard's promotion on
Saturday night.

Ryamizard, a 1974 Military Academy graduate, is the youngest
of the TNI top brass. Both fellow chiefs of staff, Vice Marshal
Chappy Hakim, who leads the Air Force, and Vice Adm. Bernard Kent
Sondakh of the Navy, are nearing the mandatory retirement age of
55.

Born in Palembang, South Sumatra, 52 years ago, Ryamizard is a
son of a loyalist of Sukarno, the founding president and
Megawati's father. Ryamizard is married to a daughter of former
vice president Try Sutrisno.

Ryamizard is known as one of the TNI generals who has strongly
campaigned against separatist movements in Aceh and Papua.

His appointment to the Army's top post has buried the hopes of
his senior, Lt. Gen. Djamari Chaniago, TNI chief of general
affairs, who received support from several legislators, including
some former Army officers of Megawati's Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle and high-ranking army officers.

According to Sjafrie, beside selecting the new Kostrad chief,
Wanjakti would also select the Army deputy chief to replace Kiki
Syahnakrie.

Sjafrie, however, refused to reveal how many candidates had
been nominated to fill the Kostrad chief and Army deputy chief
posts.

Speculation has been rife over the past few days that the
Jakarta Military Commander Maj. Gen. Bibit Waluyo, a 1972
Military Academy graduate, will take over from Ryamizard as the
Kostrad chief and hand over his current post to the Makassar,
South Sulawesi-based Wirabuana Military Commander Maj. Gen. M.
Yahya.

Meanwhile, former Army's Special Force (Kopassus) Lt. Gen.
Syahrir MS, a 1971 graduate, and the incumbent operational
assistant to the Army chief Maj. Gen. Hary Kosasih, a 1972
graduate, have been touted as strong candidates for the Army
deputy chief position.