Military makes no special plans over heightened political tension

JAKARTA (JP): The city military command did not take special precautions over the continuing tension between President Abdurrahman Wahid and Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security Gen. Wiranto, an official said on Wednesday.

"The Jakarta Military Command did not deploy troops at some vital installations in the capital following deteriorating relations between the President and the Coordinating Minister," Jakarta military spokesman, Lt. Col. Djazairi Nachrowi, told reporters.

Nachrowi had just returned from a ceremony celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Army's Cavalry Corps in Cijantung, East Jakarta.

He dismissed allegations that some troops, armed with machine guns, had been deployed at several public places, including toll gates.

"People should pay careful attention, so not to be confused when troops are just waiting for buses at toll gates and not patrolling surrounding areas," he said.

"Indeed, some Jakarta military command's territorial officers could be seen at certain companies here, but it was their duty to maintain security and order in those areas," he added.

Nachrowi also said that it was the city police's task to maintain security and order in the city.

Tension between the President and the Coordinating Minister started early last month when the local press quoted a statement by the chairman of the Japan-Indonesia Parliament Friendship League, Taku Yamasaki, which was published in some Japanese media, including Kyodo news agency, as saying that he would remove several ministers, including Wiranto, from the cabinet.

After first challenging the validity of the press report, President Abdurrahman, better known as Gus Dur, later confirmed on Jan. 27 that Wiranto and the other three active military officers serving in the Cabinet would retire on March 31.

The president then said last week that Wiranto should resign as Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security, following allegations of his involvement in the East Timor violence following the August 1999 balloting there.

The tension further increased on Monday as the president precipitated another showdown with former Indonesia Military (TNI) chief Gen. (ret) Feisal Tanjung.

The president said Feisal, who became coordinating minister for political and security affairs in 1997, once ordered Wiranto, who was then chief of the Army's Strategic Reserves Command, to eliminate him and now Vice-President Megawati Soekarnoputri, in that year.

Feisal has strongly denied the accusation. But, the statement has created tension in the city as local media have reported that several former high ranking military officers attended a meeting on Tuesday, to discuss the president's statements.

Nachrowi conceded that the Jakarta military command have emphasized daily activities in the barracks but only to increase the soldiers' basic combat capability.

"The exercises have not been prepared to create a coup or a contingency situation in the city.

The Jakarta military command is only trying to fulfill the people's demand to maintain professionalism among the troops," he said. (asa)