Prabowo to be honored in retirement ceremony

Prabowo to be honored in retirement ceremony

JAKARTA (JP): The former commander of the Army's Special Force
(Kopassus), Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo Subianto, is among 70 generals
invited to bring their service to an honorable end in a formal
retirement ceremony on Thursday.

Armed Forces (ABRI) Spokesman Maj. Gen. Syamsul Ma'arif said
the ceremony would be held at the National Military Academy in
Magelang, Central Java.

"Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto is included on the list of 70
retired generals who have registered for the retirement
ceremony," Syamsul told reporters at his office on Monday.

He said the decree authorizing the graduation ceremony was
signed by the Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto on Nov. 20.

However, Syamsul was unable to state whether or not Prabowo
would attend.

"It's completely up to him to decide whether or not he attends
the ceremony," he said.

It is traditional for the Armed Forces to hold retirement
ceremonies for senior military figures.

Among the 70 to be honored are Gen. (ret) Feisal Tanjung, who
is currently Coordinating Minister for Political and Security
Affairs; Lt. Gen. (ret) Syarwan Hamid, the Minister of Home
Affairs; Lt. Gen. (ret) Soeyono, secretary-general of the
Ministry of Defense and Security; Lt. Gen. (ret) Tarub, former
ABRI Chief of General Affairs; and Maj. Gen. (ret) Syamsu
Djalaluddin, Deputy Attorney General for Intelligence Affairs.

Prabowo, who is the son-in-law of former president Soeharto,
was once considered among the Armed Force's brightest prospects.
He climbed the military's ranks at a phenomenal pace and reached
the pinnacle of his career as the commander of the Army's
Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad).

But his star fell even faster than it rose. He was replaced at
Kostrad one day after Soeharto resigned from the presidency on
May 21, and was transferred to the Armed Forces Staff and Command
School in Bandung, West Java.

He fell into disgrace when he admitted to an Officers Honor
Council that he was responsible for the abduction of a number of
political activists.

As a consequence, Prabowo was given an "honorable" discharge
on Aug. 24, while two other senior Kopassus officials implicated
in the abductions -- Maj. Gen. Muchdi Purwopranjono and Col.
Chairawan -- were removed from their active military duties.

Eleven Kopassus troops are to be court-martialled for their
involvement in abductions.

Separately, ABRI's Chief Military Prosecutor Maj. Gen. Chalid
Karim L. said on Monday that his office had received dossiers on
the 11 Kopassus soldiers.

"We cannot decide when we'll submit the dossiers to the
military tribunal. We're still evaluating them," Chalid told
reporters after attending a ceremony to mark the promotion of 15
generals at the Armed Forces headquarters.

ABRI's Chief of Legal Affairs, Maj. Gen. Timor P. Manurung,
confirmed Chalid's statement, saying that he had yet to receive
the dossiers.

Earlier in the morning, Wiranto received 16 generals who had
each received a one rank promotion.

Among them were Lt. Gen. Afif Ma'ruf, who is secretary-general
of the House of Representatives (DPR), and Vice Adm. Heribertus
Sudiro.

Wiranto also posthumously promoted the late Lt. Gen. (ret)
Sarwo Edhi Wibowo, a former Kopassus commander, to the rank of
Honorary General. Sarwo Edhi was the father-in-law of ABRI's
Chief of Territorial Affairs Lt. Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
(imn)