Controversy as Sjafrie Given Key Defense Post

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Ministry of Defense announced on Thursday a major reshuffle that has seen Indonesian Military (TNI) spokesman Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin take up the key post of secretary-general.

The appointment of Sjafrie, who has been linked to human rights violations in Jakarta and East Timor, comes as defense minister Juwono Sudarsono steps up efforts to restore full military ties between Indonesia and the United States.

A decree on the reshuffle, signed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono late on Wednesday, also assigned Juwono to take over the work of outgoing director general of defense planning Mas Widjaja, pending the appointment of his replacement.

Defense ministry spokesman A. Aziz Manaf, who unveiled the reshuffle, would not disclose the reason why the President was keeping the post vacant. Indra Djati Sidi, currently the director general of primary and secondary education at the Ministry of National Education, was earlier assumed to be a candidate to fill Widjaja's shoes.

As a result of the reshuffle, Maj. Gen. Dadi Susanto, who is intelligence assistant to TNI's chief of general affairs Vice Marshal Wartoyo, was named director general of defense strategy, replacing Maj. Gen. (ret) Sudrajat. Dadi was the defense attache at the Indonesian Embassy in the U.S. in 2000.

The director general of defense empowerment at the defense ministry, Rear Marshal Pitter Watimena, was shifted to the Directorate General of Procurement, replacing Maj. Gen. (ret) Aqlani Maza. Pitter's old post went to Brig. Gen. Suryadi.

"The reshuffle was conducted in coordination with the ministry and TNI headquarters." Aziz said.

Apart from the structural appointments, Juwono also picked businessman Adnan Gantoe and former National Resilience Institute governor Lt. Gen. (ret) Sofyan Effendi as his economic and military advisors respectively.

Juwono will install the new officials on Friday.

Adnan Gantoe is an Aceh native who now runs Morgan Bank, while Sofyan once served as Aceh military commander.

Rights activist Usman Hamid of the National Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said the reshuffle was a reflection of the government's failure to promote internal reform within the military.

"It has maintained the impunity for controversial military officers with poor human rights track records," Usman said, referring to Sjafrie.

Sjafrie was the Jakarta military commander when the capital was hit by ethnic riots that led to the ouster of former dictator Soeharto in May 1998. Thousands died in the rampage. Sjafrie also served in East Timor when
widespread violence broke out after the autonomy plebiscite in 1999.

Commenting on the criticism, Sjafrie said: "It doesn't matter. The public will see who is right. The most important thing for me is that the accusations have never been proven, even outside a court."

He said he would focus on helping the ministry draw up broad national defense policies.

Deputy chairman of House Commission I for defense Effendy Choirie expected Sjafrie's appointment would not affect Indonesia's efforts in seeking the lifting of the U.S. arms embargo, which has been in effect since the Santa Cruz
cemetery massacre in Dili, East Timor in 1991.