Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has been urged to reconsider his idea to appoint an Army chief as the new Indonesian Military (TNI) chief, and instead choose the Air Force chief.
A military source said Susilo would likely appoint Army chief Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu as the new TNI commander, replacing Army Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, 57, who has passed the mandatory retirement age of 55 years old.
The recommendation was apparently aimed at putting an end to the standoff between the President and the House of Representatives over the TNI leadership, which ensued when the House ignored a letter Susilo sent on October 25.
The letter communicated Susilo's intention to revoke former president Megawati Soekarnoputri's decision to accept the resignation of Endriartono and to nominate Ryamizard as the new TNI chief.
The pro-Megawati Nationhood Coalition, led by the Golkar Party, holds majority seats in the House.
Calls have been mounting for Susilo to annul Ryamizard's nomination to ensure that the military leadership is passed among leaders of all forces in rotation.
The Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) said over the weekend that Susilo must replace all chiefs of staff and select one as the new military commander, while Susilo needed to confer the position of TNI chief to the Air Force chief in all fairness. "The military leadership must be rotated among leaders of all forces to ensure that the institution is revitalized. The rotation is also necessary to curb rivalry that might lead to an internal conflict within the armed forces," said acting executive director of Imparsial Rachland Nashidik.
Like Endriartono, Navy chief Adm. Bernard Kent Sondakh, 56, and Air Force chief Marshal Chappy Hakim, 57, are beyond the mandatory retirement age, while Ryamizard will reach retirement age in April 2005.
Rachland said Susilo and his administration would be credited with promoting genuine military reform, if he picked the Air Force chief as the TNI leader.
Article 14 of the recently endorsed Military Law stipulates that the position of TNI chief should be appointed in rotation to the Army, Air Force and Navy.
The president is authorized constitutionally in their capacity as the TNI supreme commander to appoint a TNI chief pending House approval.
Rachland said, however, that the President and the House were both reluctant to implement the rotation scheme, as they had assumed Ryamizard would be nominated as TNI chief upon Endriartono's resignation.
House Speaker Agung Laksono said on Friday after a meeting with the President that Susilo had agreed to the House's intention to push through Ryamizard's nomination.
"Both Susilo and civilian House legislators still have a tendency to invite the military to the center stage of politics," Rachland said.
Endriartono's appointment by Megawati in 2001 halted the rotation scheme introduced by her predecessor Abdurrahman Wahid, who had named Navy chief Adm. Widodo Adisucipto to the top TNI post in 1999.
Constitutional law experts said Susilo's acceptance of the House's plan to press ahead with installing Ryamizard showed the House was fulfilling its supervisory role.
"This indicates effective supervision by the House. If it plays its supervisory role properly, there will be a better system of checks and balances," Maria Farida Indrati from the University of Indonesia said on Sunday.
Fellow expert Sri Soemantri said the House's increasing supervisory authority was a result of constitutional amendments that began in 1999.
Under the amended Constitution, the appointment of certain state officials, including the TNI and National Police chiefs, requires House approval.
However, Soemantri said the issue of the TNI chief appointment had changed from a legal into a political one.
Meanwhile, Endriartono is slated to announce a military reshuffle during a news conference on Monday at TNI headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta, accompanied by all three chiefs of staff.
The reshuffle is to include the replacement of all chiefs of staffs as part of a revitalization effort, a source said.