Wiranto asked to counsel dissident military chief

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman disclosed on Monday that he had entrusted inactive coordinating minister for political affairs and security Gen. Wiranto to cope with the dissenting regional military commander.

Without naming the officer, the President said he had asked Wiranto to advise him to stop his activities in criticizing the government unless he wants to risk his military career.

"If the officer can be disciplined I will give him a second chance, and I have trusted Pak Wiranto to talk to him," Abdurrahman said after opening a seminar on a new Indonesia at the National Defense Institute (Lemhanas).

Abdurrahman, or Gus Dur as he is popularly known, said he conveyed the request when Wiranto recently visited Merdeka Palace. No exact time for the meeting was unveiled by the President.

Wiranto, who also attended the seminar, confirmed his meeting with the President, but refused to disclose the results of their talk.

He said only that he held regular meetings with the President after last month's suspension from his ministerial post. The two last met in public when Abdurrahman had dinner at Wiranto's official residence on Jl. Denpasar in South Jakarta earlier this month.

Abdurrahman suspended Wiranto pending the completion of an investigation into his alleged role in the East Timor violence last year.

Wiranto, who will retire from the military at the end of this month, also claimed that the President still consulted him on military affairs.

"Our differences in the political field should not be a private matter," Wiranto said.

Last week, Abdurrahman announced that one of the country's 11 regional military commanders had voiced a detrimental statement about the government.

Brawijaya Military Commander overseeing East Java Maj. Gen. Sudi Silalahi quickly denied any speculation that Abdurrahman was referring to him.

When asked about Silalahi, the President replied: "It is people who said that, not me."

Internal steps

Meanwhile in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Tyasno Sudarto said he summoned all regional military commanders and Army top brass to follow up on the President's statement.

"We have taken internal steps," Tyasno told The Jakarta Post without elaborating.

"We have evaluated the President's statement."

Tyasno was in Makassar on Monday to preside over a ceremony marking the transfer of duty of outgoing Wirabuana Military commander Maj. Gen. Agus Wirahadikusumah to Maj. Gen. Slamet Kirbiantoro.

The Army chief, who supervises all regional military commands nationwide, said he had clarified the matter with President Abdurrahman. He said the President had accurate information that the military chief had held several meetings with his subordinates expressing his disagreement with the President's policies.

"We should be introspective due to the President's statement. Maybe this all happened due to a misunderstanding," Tyasno said.

He declined to name the individual the President was referring to.

"Just ask the President, I have no capacity to reveal that," he said. He also called on journalists not to exaggerate the matter.

Agus Wirahadikusumah, who will take over the top post in the Army's Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad) from Lt. Gen. Djadja Suparman next week, denied allegations that he was interested in politics.

"Those accusing me of being unprofessional should look at my track record," he said.

Agus made headlines by criticizing his senior Gen. Wiranto. Some military officers have accused Agus of "talking too much about politics".

"I have done nothing political. The problem is that the military (TNI) has been depoliticized too much. The smaller the role TNI plays in society, the stronger society will be," he said. (27/sur/prb)