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)