TNI chief orders major reshuffle

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto has overseen the first major reshuffle of the armed forces since taking over last month.

The reshuffle, based on a decree from the TNI chief dated Saturday but only made public on Monday, involves 142 officers, most notably Lt. Gen. Bibit Waluyo, who becomes the new commander of the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad).

There also were changes of the guard at four regional military commands and the Navy's Western Fleet.

Among the more well-known figures involved in the reshuffle was Maj. Gen. Achmad Yahya, who will replace Bibit as the Jakarta Military commander. Yahya, a Madura native and a 1971 graduate of the Armed Forces Academy (Akabri), looks to hold his new post only briefly, barring any unforeseen events, as he will reach the mandatory retirement age in October next year.

Yahya, the current chief of the Wirabhuwana Military Command overseeing Sulawesi, is not a new face in the Jakarta Military Command, serving as the command's chief of staff in 1998.

The post left vacant by Yahya will be filled by Army's Special Force (Kopassus) chief Maj. Gen. Amirul Isnaeni. This will be the highest ever territorial posting for Amirul, a 1975 Akabri graduate who is seen as a rising star in the military.

Kopassus chief of staff Brig. Gen. Sriyanto will take over from Amirul as the commander of the elite force. Sriyanto was an officer at the North Jakarta Military when security troops shot dead dozens of Muslim protesters in Tanjung Priok in 1984 and the Surakarta Military commander when riot hit the Central Java town in May 1998.

TNI spokesman Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said this latest reshuffle was in response to changes in the military structure.

"Reshuffles usually take place in April and October, but since some of our officers have reached retirement age we undertook another reshuffle this month," Sjafrie told The Jakarta Post.

"The reshuffle is also in answer to the demand for the reorganization of the TNI, as well as to fill several posts that were left vacant following the previous reshuffle," he said.

The military has undergone major changes over the last few months, with the replacement of the three chiefs of staff and the TNI chief. Except for Army chief Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu, all of the new TNI top brass have reached or are near retirement age.

At TNI Headquarters, two high-ranking officers, Maj. Gen. Timor P. Manurung, the chief of the legal division, and Rear Adm. Joost F. Mengko, the intelligence assistant to the TNI chief of general affairs, will retire.

They will be replaced by Brig. Gen. FX Sukiman and Commodore Luthfie, respectively. Luthfie currently is the Director C at the TNI Intelligence Body.

Lieutenant Gen. Syahrir MS, who heads the Military Education and Training Command in Bandung, West Java, also will retire. He will be replaced by the head of the Siliwangi Military Command overseeing West Java, Maj. Gen. Darsono, a 1972 Akabri graduate.

Darsono's command baton will be passed to his chief of staff, Brig. Gen. Iwan Ridwan Sulanjana, who is two years his junior.

The other regional military commander affected in the latest reshuffle is Maj. Gen. Willem da Costa, the head of the Udayana Military Command. He will be assigned to the Army Staff and Command School in Bandung, leaving his chief of staff, Brig. Gen. Agus Suyitno, to take over.

In the Navy, Rear Adm. Sumardjono, the commander of the Western Fleet, will be replaced by Rear Adm. Djoko Sumaryono.

In the Air Force, Rear Marshal Rukma Susetyasta, the head of the Eastern Air Command, will replace Rear Marshal Abdullah Sjirat as the planning assistant to the Air Force chief.

While Rear Marshal Herman Prayitno, the governor of the Air Force Academy, will take over for Rear Marshal Teuku Sjahril as head of the Western Air Command.