Military asks for list of leaders
Military asks for list of leaders
JAKARTA (JP): Army Chief of Staff Gen. Hartono ordered
regional military chiefs yesterday to list the leaders of any
clandestine movement that could undermine the nation's stability.
Hartono said that the Jan. 12 killing of six people in
Liquisa, East Timor, occurred because standard military
procedures were not followed. He added that the incident should
serve as a reminder that the Army needs to maintain close
surveillance on clandestine movements.
"This (list of underground leaders) is necessary because
clandestine actions such as those occurring in East Timor are
more dangerous than normal rebel activity," he said.
The general made the remarks after inaugurating Maj. Gen.
Purwantono, the new governor of the military academy in Magelang,
Central Java.
He said that by "clandestine" he was referring to double-agent
rebels. Such people, he said, could be good for the government
and the military but also use their position to support GPK, the
military's term for rebels.
Hartono placed the GPK movements in East Timor into three
categories: "korsa, selula and clandestine. Of the three, only
clandestine are undetectable since they mingle with the people.
The other two groups can be easily identified from their weapons.
"Clandestine may be anything from government to private
employees. 'Clandestines' can pose a problem and deserve our full
attention," he said.
Responding to questions on the army's recent decision to
court-martial two of its members for the killings of six East
Timorese in Liquisa, Hartono stressed that the court would be the
one to have the last say on whether or not the ABRI officers were
guilty.
The two officers are currently being held and awaiting trial
at the Udayana military command, which oversees security in East
Timor, Nusa Tenggara and Bali.
Hartono said the house which was burnt by the leader of the
military team Lt. Jermias Kasse during the incident was used as a
meeting place.
The burning of the house, which was considered evidence in the
case, was denounced in an investigation conducted by the National
Commission on Human Rights.
"According to military operations everywhere in the world such
a place must be destroyed so it cannot be used again," he said,
adding that it was not a house but a hut located in the middle of
the forest.
Hartono yesterday installed Maj. Gen. Purwantono as the
Military Academy's new governor to replace Maj. Gen. Yusman
Yutam. Purwantono was previously the academy's deputy governor.
Hartono asked the academy to continue developing a dynamic
educational concept and to join hands with other institutions in
various forms of cooperation.
"The military academy is a place to develop young military
officers with wide academic perspectives in defense and security
and in social and cultural knowledge," he said in the ceremony.
The military must also aim at creating "professional,
effective, efficient and modern" military men, he said.
Purwantono was born in Malang, East Java in 1942 and graduated
from the academy in 1965. He is the academy's 17th governor.
He attended various military training courses including a
continued course for military officers, army staff and command
school, ABRI staff and command school and senior staff training.
He was previously the West Java military district commander
and education and training director at the army staff and command
school in Bandung.
The ceremony was attended yesterday by a number of military
district chiefs and Commander of the Strategic Reserve Command
Maj. Gen. Tarub, Commander of the Army Special Force Brig Gen.
Soedibyo, governors of the army, navy, air force and police
academies and government officials from Central Java and
Yogyakarta.(pwn)