Patrick Walters, Jakarta – One of Indonesia's most experienced infantry officers with extensive combat experience in East Timor has been named socio-political chief of armed forces.
The promotion of Major-General Mohammad Yunus Yosifiah, 53, to three-star rank is the latest in a wave of changes in senior ranks which will see five new regional commanders installed this month.
Currently commander of the armed forces staff college in Bandung, General Yunus, a Buginese from South Sulawesi, has served three tours of duty in East Timor.
More than any other serving military officer, he knows the circumstances surrounding the deaths of five Australian-based journalists in Balibo, East Timor in 1975.
On October 16, 1975, as a captain in Indonesia's special forces he helped co-ordinate the assault by Indonesian and East Timorese irregular forces on Balibo - the action that resulted in the deaths of the five journalists.
In December, 1978, he commanded battalion 744 in East Timor that killed Fretilin guerrilla leader Nicolao Lobato.
He also served as the local military commander in East Timor from the military academy, General Yunus is married to a Timorese.
He is a graduate of the US army's staff college at Fort Leavenworth and the Royal College of Defence Studies in Britain.
The position of chief of socio-political affairs is a sensitive, high-profile post, with it's heavy emphasis on political liaison as well as contact with the media.
Under the dual function of the armed forces, the military continues to play a vital role in national politics, with a guaranteed block of 75 seats in the 500-seat parliament in addition to its traditional defence and security functions.
General Yunus will take over as socio-political affairs chief from Lieutenant General Syarwan Hamid, who will lead the armed forces faction in the House of Representatives. General Yunus's new assistant will be one of the army's brightest stars, Major General Bambang Yudhoyono, 47, currently military commander in South Sumatra.
The armed forces chief, General Feisal Tanjung, said on Monday that five regional commanders would soon retire from their commands and take up positions as MPs in parliament's armed forces faction.
They are:
Maj. Gen. Abdul Rivai, Udayana command which includes East Timor; Maj. Gen. Sedaryanto, Bukit Barison military commander (command covers Aceh, North and West Sumatra and Riau; Maj. Gen. Tayo Tarmadi of the West Java command; Maj. Gen. Imam Utomo of the East Java command; Maj. Gen. Namoeri Anoem, the Kalimantan region commander.