Camelia Pasandaran & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The newly installed Army chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Pramono Edhie Wibowo, on Thursday said he did not feel burdened by the fact that he was the brother-in-law of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Speaking shortly after his swearing-in as the head of the Army, Pramono – a brother of Ani Yudhoyono, the first lady – said he was her brother long before she was married to the man who is now the president.

"When Yudhoyono married Ani, I became his in-law. But whether this is nepotism, that's up to my superior, [outgoing Army Chief of Staff Gen.] George Toisutta, to decide. There's a mechanism for this."

Pramono is replacing George because the latter has reached his retirement age. He edged out two other candidates for the post: Lt. Gen. Budiman and Lt. Gen. Marciano Norman. Pramono said that instead of burdening him, the connection with the presidential family would make him a better leader.

Born in 1955, Pramono has held significant posts. He became deputy commander of the Army's elite Special Forces unit (Kopassus) in 2007 and commander of the unit a year later. He also led the Army's Central Java Command. He also served as head of the Army's Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad), as well as being an aide to President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

George said Pramono was the best of the candidates. "I have three lieutenant generals, but there's one who does not meet the age requirement," George said.

"[Pramono] is the best in the Army." Pramono said he would continue the programs initiated by his predecessor, but added that "it will be my priority to develop a professional army that is loved by the people.

"He said he would also work on the Army's weapons systems and planned to train soldiers in the use of new technology. Questioned whether he would use the top post as a stepping stone to run in the 2014 presidential elections, Pramono said: "I will only focus on developing the Army professionally."

Poengky Indarti, from rights group Imparsial, said there was nothing significant that could be expected from Pramono in terms of his vision and mission to develop the Armed Forces.

During his years as a commander of Kopassus and Kostrad, Pramono did nothing out of the ordinary, Poengky said. However, she said, the general has been accused of involvement in human rights abuses before, during and after East Timor – a former Portuguese colony invaded by Indonesia in 1975 – opted to secede in a 1999 referendum.

Poengky said that Pramono, along with Deputy Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, were also rumored to be barred from entering the United States because of their human rights records. "This should have actually been considered by the president before appointing him," she said. "But what can we do? The decision is up to the president."

However, Poengky said Pramono could do away with negative sentiments by showing he was willing to change the Army for the better. "He must show his commitment to military reform. We are challenging him to show that he's really capable of that," Poengky said.

Tubagus Hasanuddin, deputy chairman of the House of Representative's Commission I, which oversees defense affairs, said that nearly all of its members agreed that Pramono was the best candidate for the job.

"Not every soldier would be able to hold all the strategic positions he has held [but] Pramono has a complete set of skills," Tubagus said. "It's just a coincidence that he's a brother-in-law of the president. We must be fair." Lawmakers, Tubagus said, would always closely monitor developments within the Armed Forces, including the Army.