The announcement that Major-General Sjafrie Sjamsuddin is to become the head of public relations and the official spokesperson of TNI, the Indonesian armed forces, has provoked angry denunciations in Indonesia. He is well known in Indonesia and East Timor as an intelligence officer from Kopassus with a direct hand in some of the worst violations during the 1990s around the time of Suharto's fall from power. He spent many tours of duty in East Timor, culminating in a semi-official re-appearance in mid 1999 when he supported the militias before and after the ballot, during widespread atrocities.

Sjafrie is also under fire because of the role of the Jakarta military command of which he was commander in May 1998 when four students at Trisakti University were shot dead and subsequent riots erupted in major commercial districts of the capital during which hundreds of mostly ethnic Chinese were killed and dozens of women were raped, while troops stood by. Sjafrie is one of several generals who have refused to respond to a summons from the KPP HAM (human rights investigation commission) for the Trisakti atrocity for questioning in connection with that event.

At the time of his re-emergence in East Timor in mid 1999, he held no command post in the army, having been put out to graze, after being replaced as military commander of the Jakarta military command following the disastrous events just before and after Suharto's fall. The commander of the Jakarta military command usually gets promoted to the top echelon in the army. While ABRI, under its new name TNI, was licking its wounds and being subjected to strong condemnation from civil society for the years of repression and violence under Suharto, Sjafrie remained in the shadows.

His appointment this week to one of the TNI's most influential positions is a sign of the renewed confidence of the armed forces who feel that they can now afford to ignore public opinion and the need for basic reforms of the armed forces.

The following biodata is taken from a document prepared by James Dunn for UNTAET.

Major General Sjafrie Sjamsuddin

• Background: Born: 1952, Ujung Pandang, South Sulawesi
• 1973: Commander of the Cadet corps at Akabri (Armed forces academy)
• 1974: Class 5, Military Academy (Akmil)
• 1975-77: Battalion Commander, Group I Kopassandha (forerunner of Kopassus) Took part as a volunteer in Operasi Flamboyan, under Yunus Yosfiah, and in Operasi Seroja (codename for the invasion) in East Timor in 1975. Commander, Second Company, Group I, Special Forces. Reported to have participated in Operasi Nanggala X.
• 1978-?: Commander, Executive Unit, Presidential Escort.
• 1980-81: Intelligence Officer, Group I, Kopassus.
• 1982-85: Deputy Commander, Battle Detachment 13, Group I, Special Forces, involved in Operasi Chandra XV in Timor in 1984.
• 1985: Infantry Officers Advanced Course, Fort Benning USA
• 1986-89: Deputy Commander, First Battalion, Group I Kopassus. Part of Maleo Team, with Agum Gumelar, in 87.
• 1991-93: Deputy Assistant for Operations, Kopassus.
• 1993: Brief training course at Swanbourne SAS base, Perth, Australia.
• 1993-95: Commander, Group A, Presidential Security Guard.
• 1996-97: Chief of Staff, Kodam Jaya (Greater Jakarta).
• 1997-98: Commander, Kodam Jaya
• 1999: Member of the MPR, ABRI faction. Also Expert Staff, Defence and Security Affairs, Commander of ABRI Staff.
• 1999: Assigned to East Timor (under Zacky Anwar) at time of the plebiscite.
• 1999-2000: Expert Staff, Coordinating Minister for Politics and Security (under General Wiranto).

Comments: Leading Kopassus officer. Fought in Operasi Bravo alongside Prabowo in East Timor. As head of SGI (Kopassus Interrogation Centres) in East Timor in 1991 is said to have had an involvement in the Santa Cruz massacre. Reported to have designed counter intelligence operations in East Timor during his tour. Is reported by intelligence analysts to have prepared the plans for TNI and militia operations, there playing a key role in efforts to prevent loss of East Timor. According to an ANU strategic affairs analyst, Sjamsuddin prepared the plans for TNI and militia operations in East Timor at ABRI Headquarters. He was sent to East Timor shortly before the plebiscite where, according to another report, he helped conduct the militia campaign. One of those recommended by KPP HAM inquiry for investigation.

Assessment: Further investigations should show that this officer is implicated as one of the key military officers responsible for the development of the TNI strategy that led to serious crimes against humanity in East Timor.