TNI Reshuffle The Return of the Generals

TEMPO Magazine No. 24/II/February 19 - 25, 2002

Three generals suspected of human rights abuses have returned to the fore. Is this a victory for the hardliners?

At Indonesian Military (TNI) HQ last Friday, the generals were talking as mid night
approached. Normally Cilangkap is "general free" late at night. It turned out they
had important things to discuss. The head of the TNI Information Center, Air Force
Rear Marshal Graito Usodo was announcing the reassignment of 118 senior officers.

It was a major reshuffle, although the "highlight", namely the replacement of the
chiefs-of-staff, has yet to come. The replacement of TNI commander is also still
awaited.

The reorganization, news of which had been circulating around Jakarta since the
previous week, covered several important posts. For example, the head of the TNI
Information Center. Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsuddin will replace Graito Usodo. Sjafrie
was previously a member of the TNI commander's advisory staff.

The appointment of Sjafrie to this key post has led to questions being asked from,
among others, Arbi Sanit, an expert on politics from the University of Indonesia.
According to Arbi, it will be difficult for Sjafrie to give clear explanations
regarding TNI internal matters when many are questioning his status. "What will
happen if people don't believe what he says?" he asked.

The two-star general from Makassar is still implicated in the violence of May 1998
that led to the deaths of several students. At the time he was responsible for
security in Jakarta by virtue of his position as commander of the Greater Jakarta
Military Area Command (Kodam).

As a result of the violence, Sjafrie's name was added to the list of senior officers
to be questioned by the Commission to Investigate Human Rights Violations. But the questioning has not taken place because the generals have refused to participate.

Sjafrie is not alone, because there are more changes on the way. According to a
TEMPO source, another post that will be filled by a controversial figure is the
secretary-general of the defense ministry, currently held by Lt. Gen. Johny
Lumintang. Johny is due to retire shortly and the strongest candidate to replace him is the TNI commander's operational assistant Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri.

Adam Damiri is the former commander of the Udayana Kodam and is accused of being responsible for the scorched earth actions and murders in East Timor after the August 1999 referendum.

Apart from Adam, an officer he used to command, former commander of Military
Sub-area Command 164/Wiradharma, Dili, Brig. Gen. Tono Suratman has also been
mentioned as a candidate for a post at TNI HQ. Like Adam, Tono was declared a
suspect by Attorney General Marzuki Darusman during the Abdurrahman Wahid
presidency. Their names were on the list of 22 people suspected of acts of terror
and murder in East Timor.

There has been harsh criticism of the promotion of generals with checkered pasts.
Military expert Rifqi Muna from the Research Institute for Democracy & Peace sees
the return of the generals as a threat to the democracy growing in this country.
"The appointment of the generals shows the victory of the hardliners," he said.

According to M.T. Arifin, another expert on the military, there are differences of
opinion between senior TNI officers and civilians regarding the involvement of
senior officers in the East Timor violence.

The military, says Arifin, take the opinion that as long as the commanding officer
judges there to have been no human rights violations, the officers should be
promoted. "After all, we must consider the careers of these officers. What's more,
the actions in question were undertaken as part of national service," he said.

Although there is debate, it seems that nothing will stop Sjafrie becoming a
familiar face on TV screens as TNI spokesman.

Edy Budiyarso, Adi Prasetya