Wiranto says ABRI is having 'credibility test'

Wiranto says ABRI is having 'credibility test'

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces
(ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto has acknowledged that prolonged
social unrest in parts of the country has put the Armed Forces'
credibility at stake.

"There are numerous problems of social unrest which ... demand
the Armed Forces has the credibility to handle. These problems
are a test for our credibility," he said, when addressing the job
transfer ceremony of four high-ranking military officers at the
ABRI headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta, on Tuesday.

Lt. Gen. Fachrul Razi transferred his post as chief of ABRI
General Affairs to Lt. Gen. Sugiono, former deputy Army chief of
staff. Fachrul has been appointed as secretary-general of the
Ministry of Defense and Security to replace Lt. Gen. Suyono.

Maj. Gen. Agus Widjojo handed over his position as the
assistant to ABRI commander on general planning to his successor
Maj. Gen. Agus Wirahadikusumah.

Maj. Gen. Y.B. Wirawan, the coordinator of ABRI chief's
experts staff, transferred his job to Maj. Gen. I Gede Nyoman
Arsana.

Maj. Gen. Zacky Anwar handed over as chief of the military
Intelligence Agency (BIA) to his successor Maj. Gen. Tyasno
Sudarto.

Wiranto acknowledged that an accumulation of unresolved
social, political and economic problems was a threat to national
unity and development programs. However, he passed on some of the
blame to parties that had "misunderstood" reform as a chance to
do what they will regardless of the danger to the nation.

Wiranto also discussed the difficult tasks that the Armed
Forces would also face in the coming elections in June and in the
General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly in August.

He also spoke of the need for ABRI to have leaders with vision
so the organization could continue to play an active role in the
reform era.

"ABRI is of the opinion reform is necessary and a must, and it
is repositioning its role in defense and politics," he said.

Meanwhile, newly-appointed BIA chief Maj. Gen. Tyasno Sudarto
said after the ceremony his agency was willing to receive and
study any information on the so-called "third parties" behind
recent riots in various parts of the country.

"We'd be happy to cooperate with any individuals and groups
who can give us information on 'third parties' which may have
incited recent riots," he said.

The government has blamed weak intelligence for unrest that
escalated and ran out of control.

I Wayan Karya, a staff member at the office of Coordinating
Minister for Political and Security Affairs, said riots that
occurred in several provinces simultaneously showed similar
motives.

"If it is said that the government is late in handling the
riots it is because of the weak intelligence network," he said
after a limited cabinet meeting on Monday.

Attending the meeting then were Coordinating Minister for
Political and Security Affairs Feisal Tanjung, Minister of
Defense and Security/ABRI Chief Gen. Wiranto, Minister of Foreign
Affairs Ali Alatas, Minister of Home Affairs Syarwan Hamid,
Minister of Justice Muladi and Attorney General A.M. Ghalib.

Separately, a politician has said that had ABRI been firm in
its handling of unrest, escalation of violence would not have
taken place.

Deliar Noer, the chairman of the Muslim Community Party,
pointed at unresolved cases of rights abuse such as the murder
spree in East Java and the shooting of students at Trisakti
University last year convinced the public that the military was
incapable of providing them with a feeling of safety.

Around 200 people have been killed in a series of gruesome
murders that were said to have been committed by "ninjas" --
groups of marauding men in dark clothing and masks in the fashion
of Japanese Ninja assassins. The murder spree originated in
Banyuwangi in East Java but later spread to other towns in
Central and even West Java.

"Some unscrupulous parties then exploited the incompetence of
ABRI in order to create further violence," he added. "The Armed
Forces must step up efforts to solve the cases of rights
violations and take firm action against suspected instigators of
riots." (rms/01)