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)