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.