Jakarta – The US Embassy yesterday rejected reports that Ambassador Robert Gelbard had tried to intervene in the selection of the countrys new Army chief.
The US Embassy categorically denies press reports quoting Defense Minister [Mohammad] Mahfud as saying that the US ambassador tried to influence the selection of the chief of the Army, said a statement from the embassy. The national media quoted Mahfud as saying Gelbard had urged the government to appoint outspoken Lieutenant General Agus Wirahadikusumah as the new Army chief.
President Abdurrahman Wahid on October 9 named General Endriartono Sutarto as Army chief, replacing General Tyasno Sudarto. The head of state also installed Admiral Indroko Sastrowiryono as the new Navy chief. The appointment of senior officials in the Indonesian government is an internal matter of the Indonesian government, the US Embassy statement said.
Neither the US ambassador nor any other US official sought to influence the decision of the appointment of the Army chief or any other Indonesian military official with President Wahid or with any other officials of the Indonesian government.
The embassy also refuted reports that Gelbard had met Agus in Singapore on October 8. Nor had the Indonesian three-star general met any US government officials during his recent visit to America, it said. Agus has said he visited the US to see his son who is studying there.
The US Embassy is deeply concerned by these kinds of false statements emanating from the Defense Ministry and elsewhere, the release said, quoting the state department spokesman as labeling the reports as astonishing and irresponsible. They are also harmful to the good relations between the United States and Indonesia.
Mahfuds statement sparked an anti-US protest yesterday at the embassy. Demonstrators demanded that the government expelled Gelbard from Indonesia. A group of parliamentarians led by soothsayer Permadi from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and Ahmad Sumargono from the Crescent Star Party (PBB) picketed the front gate of the US Embassy. TNI [the Indonesian Defense Forces] is not the American armed forces, do not stir it up, read a poster carried by one of the legislators.
Sentiments against the US have been mounting over recent weeks, mainly because of US partiality in the Middle East conflict. The superpower has been accused of refraining from criticizing Israel for killing dozens of Palestinians. Analysts say the anti-US sentiment here means the last thing that many senior generals would want is an Army chief who follows American advice.
Agus is a close confidante of President Abdurrahman Wahid and has been praised by reformists for uncovering corruption within the Armys Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad) that involved former Kostrad chief Lieutenant General Djaja Suparman.
The move made him popular among pro-reform politicians and other civilians, but sources said many senior military officials were angered by his actions. Agus replaced Djaja as Kostrad chief earlier this year but was later dumped, apparently because he had upset the military hierarchy by calling for reforms an end to corruption. He made himself many enemies in the top brass by openly calling on the military to pull out of politics.
A meeting of top Army officials earlier this month discussed whether Agus should face a military council of honor for having aired the Armys dirty linen in public. He has been accused of violating the military code of ethics.