TNI chief resigns, Ryamizard takes over
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Gen. Endriartono Sutarto resigned from his post as Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Friday, days before the current government formally comes to an end.
President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who will be replaced by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Oct. 20, appointed Army chief Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu as acting TNI chief.
No official explanation was given as to why Endriartono, who reached the mandatory retirement age of 55 two years ago, resigned from the administration of Megawati, who lost in the election runoff on Sept. 20 to Susilo, her former coordinating minister for political and security affairs.
Endriartono himself was in Surabaya, East Java, on Friday to officially launch the a program for the construction of corvette patrol vessels at the state-owned shipbuilder, PT PAL.
News of Endriartono's resignation was first revealed by House of Representatives speaker Agung Laksono, who said that he had received a letter from the President informing him that she had accepted the four-star general's resignation and appointed Ryamizard as acting chief of the TNI.
"I received the letter about his resignation today in my capacity as House Speaker," Agung told reporters here. The appointment of a new TNI chief needs the approval of the House.
The news came just two days after President Megawati promoted interim coordinating minister for political and security affairs Hari Sabarno and National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief A.M. Hendropriyono to full general without complying with the standard procedures applied by the TNI.
According to Agung, Endriartono had told the President that he wanted to resign late in September, but Megawati had refused to allow him to do so as it would have created a leadership vacuum in the TNI.
He said that there was nothing unusual about Endriartono's resignation as he had already passed the mandatory retirement age. "He is already 57 years old, which means he is 2 years past the mandatory retirement age of 55," he said.
When asked about Endriartono's replacement, Agung said that Ryamizard would only serve as acting TNI chief pending the appointment of a new commander.
"Besides, Ryamizard is capable of doing the job," he said.
He added that the House would convene a meeting on Monday to discuss the change in TNI leadership.
Meanwhile, TNI spokesman Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said that TNI headquarters would await the outcome of the proper procedures for replacing Endriartono, which were in the hands of the House and the government.
"We just follow the processes that are now in the hands of the President and the lawmakers. If Ryamizard has been appointed to the top post, we have no comment as it is in accordance with the Defense Law," Sjafrie told The Jakarta Post, referring to Law No. 3/2002 on defense, which stipulates that only high-ranking officers who have served as the chief of staff of one of the armed forces can hold the TNI's top post.
In the military bill the House endorsed on Sept. 30, the post of TNI chief should be rotated among the chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force. As a result, the top post should have gone to the Air Force.
With his appointment as acting TNI chief, Ryamizard now holds three key leadership posts in the military. Besides his current job as Army chief of staff, after the retirement of the former chief of the Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad), Lt. Gen. Bibit Waluyo, Ryamizard also took charge of the elite force.
Endriartono was installed as TNI chief in May 2002 to replace Adm. Widodo AS, the only TNI chief to have come from outside the Army in the past three decades.
He was Army chief of staff before taking over command of the TNI. He served as commander of the presidential guard during the administrations of former president Soeharto and his successor B.J. Habibie.