Why the delay in search for new TNI chief?

Why the delay in search for new TNI chief?

Imanuddin, Staff Writer, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A reshuffle in the Indonesian Military (TNI) leadership is
always interesting and closely watched by a number of people,
especially those in political circles, as the person selected to
serve as the TNI chief will have a significant influence on the
country's political affairs.

And unless something sudden and dramatic happens in the
country, President Megawati Soekarnoputri is expected to announce
a new TNI chief to replace incumbent Adm. Widodo AS this month,
or in April at the latest.

It's been nearly two months since the People's Consultative
Assembly (MPR) wound up in early November and the President is
still yet to announce her choice for the top military post.

It was House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Akbar Tandjung
who disclosed in late November that President Megawati was
considering replacing Widodo soon.

Akbar's announcement reinforced statements issued by senior
leaders of Megawati's party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), who said in early November that the
President had decided not to extend Widodo's term in office and
that she wanted to appoint a younger officer to replace him.

Widodo was the choice of Megawati's predecessor, Abdurrahman
Wahid, who broke with the tradition of giving the military's top
job to an Army general.

Widodo, a 1968 graduate of the Navy Academy, reached
retirement age in 1999 but his term has been extended pending the
appointment of a new TNI chief.

The authority of the President to replace and appoint the TNI
chief is enshrined in Decree No. VII/2000 of the People's
Consultative Assembly (MPR), which stipulates that the police and
TNI chiefs are to be appointed and dismissed by the President
after approval from the House.

Yet for the sake of unity within the TNI, chiefs of staff of
the Army, the Navy and the Air Force said last November that they
preferred to see Widodo retained as the military chief.

"As long as the commitment among the three chiefs of staff is
positive, why shouldn't we support it? I guess such a commitment
is reasonable," said Air Force Chief of Staff Marshall Hanafie
Asnan, on behalf of the other two chiefs of staff.

Meanwhile, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Endriartono Sutarto cited
several technical criteria that should be considered in selecting
a new TNI chief, including the need to rejuvenate leadership,
maintain unity and strengthen professionalism.

"Today, TNI needs to remain solid," he said. "That's our chief
priority."

He said Widodo had succeeded in uniting the three forces
during very difficult times for the TNI.

But there was no satisfactory explanation from the three
chiefs of staff over their "compromise" to support Widodo.

One thing's for certain, that their statement was issued after
senior PDI Perjuangan officials had openly shown their preference
for Lt. Gen. Djamari Chaniago, the incumbent Military General
Affairs chief of staff.

Djamari also reportedly has the strongest support from the
House, which is in favor of Megawati's decision to appoint "a
younger chief to lead the military".

Unnamed military officers said that the TNI had already put up
the names of four generals to President Megawati as candidates
for the position of the new TNI chief. They are Djamari, Hanafie,
incumbent Army Chief of Staff Gen. Endriartono Sutarto and former
Army chief of staff Gen. Tyasno Sudarto.

Hanafie, a 1969 graduate of the Air Force Academy, reached
retirement age in November 2000, but former president Abdurrahman
extended his term in office. At the time, Abdurrahman planned to
appoint Hanafie as TNI commander, replacing Widodo. But the plan
remained a plan, as Abdurrahman was removed from the presidency
last July.

Meanwhile, Tyasno, a 1970 graduate and Endriartono, a 1971
graduate, both of the Armed Forces Academy, will reach retirement
age next year and in April this year respectively. Djamari, on
the other hand, is due to retire in 2004.

Although Djamari has the lowest rank of the four candidates,
he appears to have strong support from the Army, making him
possibly a more viable candidate than Endriartono and Tyasno.
Sources in the Army said Djamari would likely be promoted to the
Army chief of staff position in the near future and this would
pave the way for his ascent to the number one TNI job sometime in
2002.

In an apparent move to block the replacement of the incumbent
military chief, TNI spokesman Rear Marshall Graito Usodo said
that, based on a decree issued on June 22, 1999 by the then
minister of defense/armed forces chief Gen. Wiranto, Widodo would
retire on Aug. 31, 2004.

Endriartono confirmed Graito's statement, saying that the
replacement of the TNI chief should not affect the sense of
solidity among the military forces. Similar opposition has also
been voiced by Hanafie and Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Indroko
Sastrowiryono.

But the "reluctance" of the three chiefs of staff to have a
younger officer appointed as the TNI chief was countered by
Minister of Defense Matori Abdul Djalil, also in late November,
when he said that the replacement of the military chief was the
prerogative of President Megawati.

"The President has the authority to decide whether to extend
his (Widodo's) term of office or not," he said.
In terms of technical and military qualifications, the four
candidates have met all the requirements.

Tyasno spent most of his career in the territorial and
intelligence fields, while Endriartono, Hanafie and Djamari spent
most of their military days in the territorial, combat and
education fields.

With all the above constitutional and technical arguments, the
decision will now rest with President Megawati.

It has become an open secret that anyone appointed by a
president to lead the TNI must have the "commitment" to protect
and secure the president's political interests.

Obvious examples in the past show that all ABRI (previous name
for the TNI) chiefs appointed by then president Soeharto were his
close associates or aides.

Soeharto's choices of ABRI/TNI chief included Adm. Sudomo, his
associate in the revolutionary era in the 1940s; Gen. M. Yusuf,
his associate in the campaign against communism in the mid 1960s;
Gen. Leonardus Benyamin "Benny" Moerdani, a prominent figure in
the integration of "West Papua" into Indonesia in the 1960s, and
his former adjutants Gen. Try Sutrisno and Gen. Wiranto.

Also still fresh in the Indonesian people's minds is Wiranto's
off the cuff speech immediately after Soeharto announced his
resignation in May 1998 (to be replaced by B.J. Habibie) that the
Indonesian military would protect the safety of Soeharto and his
family despite his resignation.

And Megawati, whose father was the country's founding
president, must have learned from her father's downfall,
Soeharto's downfall, as well as the downfall of her predecessor
Abdurrahman Wahid, that she must be very careful in appointing a
TNI chief.