Jakarta – Loyalists of a police general best known for trying to undermine the national antigraft commission have been removed along with their commander.
A memo issued on Friday announcing the removal of Comr. Gen. Budi Waseso as the National Police's chief of detectives also listed Waseso's deputy, Insp. Gen. Johnny Mangasi Samosir, and his director of special and economic crimes, Brig. Gen. Victor Simandjuntak, as among those being moved in what the police force calls a "routine rotation."
According to the memo, signed by the police chief, Gen. Badrodin Haiti, Waseso trades places with National Narcotics Agency (BNN) head Comr. Gen. Anang Iskandar. Johnny is replaced by Insp. Gen. Syarhul Mamma, currently stationed at the office of the chief security minister, while Victor, seen as Waseso's enforcer in a blatant campaign to undermine the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), has been forced into early retirement.
Victor, who will be replaced by Brig Gen. Bambang Waskito, the National Police's head of operations, had earlier this week claimed that he would quit if Waseso was forced out of office.
Badrodin responded by warning all of Waseso's subordinated to be "loyal only to the force," and on Friday indicated that Victor was made to retire because of his comments.
"The person is retiring so he can say whatever he wants," Badrodin told reporters at the State Palace. "So what if he threatens to resign? Even if he didn't make such a threat, he was due to be replaced anyway."
Victor has been involved in nearly all the controversial investigations Waseso has instigated since taking the post of chief of detectives in January, particularly the cases against officials from the KPK.
Under Waseso's watch, the police's detectives' unit has pursued criminal investigations against two KPK commissioners – chairman Abraham Samad and deputy chairman Bambang Widjojanto – and senior investigator Novel Baswedan on trumped-up charges going back up to a decade.
The investigations are widely seen as retaliation for the KPK's decision to charge Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan, now the deputy police chief, with bribery and money-laundering in connection with undeclared millions of dollars in transactions through his personal bank accounts.
Waseso did little to disprove the allegations of a police-led witch hunt against the KPK, claiming publicly that he was an acolyte of Budi Gunawan's and taunting the KPK to fill in his wealth report for him.
To date he has failed to submit the report, which is mandatory for all senior public officials.
Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/waseso-loyalists-removed-office-police-purge/