Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – More than 10 senior military officers, at least one of them holding a three-star rank, threatened to quit the Indonesian defence forces (TNI) last week after complaining of "repeated presidential intervention" in military affairs.

Army sources here told The Straits Times that the reshuffle jolted many officers given what they regarded as the political underpinnings of the changes that took place in the organisation.

"Some of the officers who were promoted and moved to key positions would not have got there without the President's blessing and political inclination of his advisers," said a general holding a key staff position in the TNI headquarters.

"That is unacceptable for a large number of officers. So the feeling of disappointment and distrust against the government is widespread." The source refused to name the generals who had raised objections to what they saw as interference by President Abdurrahman Wahid in last week's reshuffle, which saw 74 staff and command officers being rotated.

But The Straits Times understands that one of them was the outgoing chief of the army strategic reserve command (Kostrad), Lt-General Djadja Suparman. He was asked to give up his appointment in the 30,000-strong Kostrad to head TNI's Staff and Command College in Bandung, where he will not have any troops under his command. He was replaced by outspoken reformer Major-General Agus Wirahadikusumah, who is reportedly close to a key palace official.

Lt-Gen Djadja told The Straits Times in an interview over the weekend that politics and links to ousted General Wiranto, the former Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs, had forced him and others out of their positions.

He also disclosed that the palace inner circle had conspired to weed him out by crafting an image of him as a "provocateur" and someone as having links to radical Islamic groups. Several army officers had over the past week expressed reservations that it was "improper" for the President to have dabbled in the process of military promotion.

Mr Kusnanto Anggoro, a military analyst at the Jakarta-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think-tank, said 12 senior officers had proposed seeking early retirement. "They are not familiar with the processes applied by the President," he said, adding that the steps taken by Mr Abdurrahman confused officers – not just Wiranto loyalists.

"It was a case of culture shock for many. It has disturbed the culture in the military, which has always been predictable." But he maintained that the disappointment in the TNI's top echelons had not resulted in any moves that endanger the current civilian-led establishment. Their concerns were made individually, not as an institution. "If their concerns result in a simultaneous expression of confusion and disappointment, the story may be different," he said.