Sugiono gets promotion in major reshuffle

Sugiono gets promotion in major reshuffle

JAKARTA (JP): The Armed Forces (ABRI) announced a massive
reshuffle on Monday, with Deputy Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen.
Sugiono being promoted to the post of ABRI Chief of General
Affairs, replacing Lt. Gen. Fachrul Razi.

Fachrul becomes secretary-general to the Ministry of Defense
and Security, replacing Lt. Gen. (ret) Soeyono, who has reached
the mandatory age of retirement, according to ABRI spokesman Maj.
Gen. Syamsul Ma'arif.

Sugiono's post as Deputy Army Chief of Staff is now held by
Commander of Armed Forces Staff and Command School, Lt. Gen.
Johny Lumintang. The Assistant for General Planning to the Armed
Forces Commander, Maj. Gen. Agus Wijaya, will fill the post left
vacant by Johny.

Chief of the Army Staff and Command School, Maj. Gen. Agus
Wirahadikusumah, now takes up Wijaya's former post.

Syamsul told a press conference at the Armed Forces' Merdeka
Barat headquarters in Central Jakarta that the reshuffle affected
100 high-ranking officials in the Army, Navy, Air Force and
National Police.

Syamsul dismissed speculation that the reshuffle was a move to
rid ABRI of "Muslim elements" and said it was a regular change in
tours of duty.

"It's just a regular change in tours of duty within ABRI,"
Syamsul said.

The reshuffle also included the replacement of the Chief of
the Intelligence Agency (BIA) Maj. Gen. Zacky Anwar Makarim by
Maj. Gen. Tyasno Sudarto, the outgoing Chief of the Central Java
Military Command. Tyasno will be replaced by his deputy, Brig.
Gen. Bibit Waluyo, while Zacky will become a senior officer at
the Armed Forces headquarters.

Also promoted were Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad)
Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu, who will become the
new East Java Military Commander, replacing Maj. Gen. Djoko
Subroto. Djoko will become the Army's Inspector-general,
replacing Maj. Gen. Nurdin Yusuf, who becomes a senior officer at
the Army headquarters.

Maj. Gen. Sang Nyoman Suwisma, who was the chief of the
Tanjung Pura Military Command overseeing the four provinces of
Kalimantan, has been given the post left vacant by Ryamizard.
Suwisma will be replaced by his deputy, Brig. Gen. Zainura M.

Meanwhile, Brig. Gen. Abdul Rachman Gaffar, a senior officer
at the Army headquarters, was promoted to lead the Bukit Barisan
Military Command which oversees Aceh, Riau, North and West
Sumatra. He replaced Maj. Gen. Ismed Yuzairi, who will become the
new Chief of the Army's Center for Territorial Affairs. (imn)