International

Army set to regain top TNI post

By Amit Baruah

SINGAPORE May 14. The Indonesian Army is all set to regain the top job in the country's military (TNI) with the President, Megawati Sukarnoputri, nominating a top Army officer to take over as TNI chief from a retiring Navy man.

The Army Chief of Staff, Gen. Endiartono Sutarto, is the only name that has been sent by the President to the House of Representatives, which must confirm his appointment. Reports from Jakarta said that Gen. Endiartono's name was sent to Parliament on May 10. If the House approves his candidature, then he will take over from Admiral Widodo, who is retiring. An attempt had been made by the former President, Abdurrahman Wahid, to sideline the Army by giving prominence to other wings of the military. The fact that a top Navy man was given the job of TNI chief was seen as an attempt to reduce the role of the powerful Army in Indonesian politics. Now, however, Ms Megawati, whose vision of Government-military relations is quite different from that of her predecessor, has decided to return the top TNI job to the Army.

The new President's style of functioning too is quite different from that of Mr. Wahid. Many believe that Ms. Megawati is a believer in the "strong State'' idea, a vision in which she is likely to find common ground with the military.

In a separate development, the Defence Minister, Matori Abdul Djalil, is travelling to Washington for a meeting with his U.S. counterpart, Donald Rumsfeld, and other top Pentagon officials.

The Washington meeting comes as a follow-up to the recent security talks held between the two countries in Jakarta.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Annan deeply saddened by killings
• U.K. condemns attack
• Bush confident of Senate nod for arms treaty
• Hain criticised for `anti-Muslim' remarks
• U.S. envoy meets Musharraf
• U.N. to vote on new Iraqi sanctions
• Defence pact set up
• Army set to regain top TNI post
• Cache 'belonged' to Afghan ally
• E.U. differences persist
• Kabul wants Indian goods sent through Wagah

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu