Maj. Gen. Yunus named ABRI sociopolitical affairs chief

JAKARTA (JP): Armed Forces Staff and Command School chief Maj. Gen. M. Yunus Yosfiah has been named the next Armed Forces chief of sociopolitical affairs to replace Lt. Gen. Syarwan Hamid.

Armed Forces Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung confirmed the appointment yesterday, ending speculation on who would take over from Syarwan who will enter the House of Representatives on Oct. 1.

Feisal said that Maj. Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the Sriwijaya military commander overseeing South Sumatra, Lampung, Jambi and Bengkulu, would be posted in the Armed Forces headquarters as Yunus' assistant.

The Armed Forces chief of sociopolitical affairs' assistant is now Maj. Gen. Budi Harsono.

Feisal said that Maj. Gen. Arie J. Kumaat, assistant for territorial affairs of the Armed Forces chief of general affairs, would substitute Yunus at the Bandung-based staff and command school.

Yunus, born in Rappang, South Sulawesi, 53 years ago, has had an impressive career which includes leading an operation that killed Fretilin separatist chief Nocolao Lobato in East Timor in late 1978. Yunus is married to an East Timorese.

In 1985, he returned to East Timor as Dili's military commander, a position he held for two years. He capped his territorial career as the Sriwijaya military commander from 1994 to 1995.

He attended training courses at Fort Leavenworth in the United States in 1979 and at the Royal College of Defense Studies in Britain.

Antara reported yesterday that Feisal would officially unveil the Armed Forces reshuffle Friday which would include replacements for five other commanders, who will join Syarwan at the House.

The five commanders are Maj. Gen. Sedaryanto of the Bukit Barisan military command overseeing Aceh, North Sumatra, West Sumatra and Riau; Maj. Gen. Tayo Tarmadi of the Siliwangi military command overseeing West Java; Maj. Gen. Imam Utomo of the Brawijaya military command overseeing East Java; Maj. Gen. Abdul Rivai of the Udayana military command overseeing Bali, Nusa Tenggara and East Timor; and Maj. Gen. Namoeri Anoem of the Tanjungpura military command overseeing Kalimantan.

Syarwan, who will lead 75 senior military officers in the House, has been rumored to have a chance of becoming Speaker for the 1997-2002 term.

But Feisal denied the rumor, saying that the Speaker would be a representative of the largest party, Golkar.

Feisal was apparently referring to Golkar chairman Harmoko who led the dominant party to a haul of 74 percent of the votes in the May 29 general election.

Last Wednesday, Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono said Harmoko deserved the House's top job. He said that all 325 Golkar legislators would logically support Harmoko's nomination. (amd)