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.