Military top brass briefed on ABRI's concept for reform

Military top brass briefed on ABRI's concept for reform

JAKARTA (JP): The military top brass were briefed yesterday on
the Armed Forces' (ABRI) concept of reform, as well as its
campaign to help restimulate the economy and public confidence in
the government.

Armed Forces (ABRI) spokesman Brig. Gen. A. Wahab Mokodongan
told reporters the meeting was held behind closed doors, and that
the chief speaker was ABRI Chief of Sociopolitical Affairs Lt.
Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Minister of Defense/Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto opened
the meeting at the ABRI headquarters on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat,
Central Jakarta.

"The briefing was meant to disseminate the Armed Forces
headquarters' concept for reform," Wahab told reporters
yesterday.

Present at the briefing were Army Chief Gen. Subagyo
Hadisiswoyo, Navy Chief Admiral Arief Kushariadi and Air Force
Chief Marshal Sutria Tubagus. Police Chief Gen. Dibyo Widodo was
absent.

Also present were Armed Forces Chief of General Affairs Lt.
Gen. Fachrul Razi; the new chief of the Armed Forces Staff and
Command School Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto; chief of the National
Military Police Corps Maj. Gen. Syamsu Djalal; chief of the Armed
Forces Intelligence Agency Maj. Gen. Zacky Anwar Makarim and all
assistants and staff at the armed forces headquarters.

Also yesterday, Wahab made a point of dispelling rumors about
Wiranto. "As you can see, General Wiranto is healthy and he
chaired the briefing," Wahab said.

Rumors were flying Thursday that Wiranto was shot dead by a
wild unit of troops. This particular rumor followed an earlier
one about Jakarta Military Commander Maj. Gen. Syafrie Syamsuddin
also being shot to death. This also proved false.

On Monday, the Armed Forces announced it is committed to
reform, calling it "the answer" to all crises affecting the
country.

In a media briefing, Susilo said fundamental reform should be
the agenda of the new government, which is now striving to
restore the country's economy and to regain the confidence of the
general public.

He said reform would only succeed with strong backing from the
government. "Otherwise, 'reform' will simply become a word with
no meaning," Susilo said.

"The most important prerequisite to reform is ... efficient
and capable national leadership. I'd like to stress (the
importance) of state leadership because it is of paramount
importance in the campaign for reform." (imn)