MILITARY PROMOTIONS HOLD MIXED IMPLICATIONS FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 002528

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/RSP, PM, G, DRL, P

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/11/2017
TAGS: PREL MARR PHUM PGOV ID
SUBJECT: MILITARY PROMOTIONS HOLD MIXED IMPLICATIONS FOR
BILATERAL ENGAGEMENT

JAKARTA 00002528 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: Pol/C Joseph Legend Novak, reasons 1.4 (b)(d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Indonesia recently publicized its military
promotion list for 2007. As in past years, the promotions
and reassignments represent a cross-section of the Indonesian
military, and are a reflection primarily of seniority. Six
key appointments have mixed implications for U.S. policy:
three look positive; two are problematic, including generals
with human rights problems. One general has close
connections to China. Mission will continue to study the
list and review next steps on engagement. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) RELEASE OF PROMOTION LIST: The Indonesian military
(TNI) has announced its annual list of promotions, lateral
assignments and retirements of senior officers. A total of
129 flag and general officers are listed in the document
dated September 4, 2007. The assignments, which were
approved by TNI Chief of Defense Forces (Panglima) General
Djoko Suyanto, involve 46 promotions, 51 lateral moves
without promotion, and 32 retirements. Of the 129 moves, 76
will occur in the Army, 20 in the Navy (including the
Marines) and 33 in the Air Force. The changes will take
effect over the next several months as positions are vacated.
As in past years, the promotions and reassignments represent
a cross-section of the Indonesian military, and are a
reflection primarily of seniority rather than policy
orientation or personal connections. We focus on six key
positions on this list.


3. (C) MIXED IMPLICATIONS: The six key appointments have
mixed implications for U.S. policy and U.S.-Indonesian
bilateral defense engagement. The new commanders for the two
main army units, KOSTRAD and KOPASSUS (Sujono and Soenarko,
respectively),appear to have relatively clean records,
boding well for U.S.-Indonesian engagement. A third (Wibowo)
is less clearly positive, but his new position takes him away
from an engagement role. In two cases (Muis and Zamroni),
officers linked to human rights violations have been promoted
to key positions. Indonesian Defense Department contacts
have told us the promotions for these two were delayed beyond
the usual date because of their past activities. One case
(Heryadi) may herald closer ties with China. (These six
appear in the same order below.)


4. (SBU) KEY APPOINTMENTS: Bio-data regarding six key
appointments follows:

-- LTG Erwin Sujono (Soejono),Commander of Army Strategic
Command (KOSTRAD),to become Chief of General Staff at TNI
Headquarters: Sujono is a brother-in-law of President
Yudhoyono (via the First Lady) has a sufficiently clean
record, and Mission does not regard this assignment as
problematic. He is scheduled to retire in February 2008.
The appointment also takes him out of competition, however,
for Army Commander (KASAD),increasing the chances for
Ministry of Defense Secretary General Syafrie Syamsuddin to
assume that post, probably in 2008. Syamsuddin is alleged to
have been present during the critical events in Dili in
August and September 1999 and was questioned by a special
government-appointed investigation team concerning his role
in the shooting of protestors in Jakarta in 1998.

-- BG Soenarko (Sunarko),Chief of Staff of Division I, Army
Strategic Command (KOSTRAD),to become Commanding General of
Army Special Forces (KOPASSUS): Soenarko was intelligence
officer in Dili during critical phases of the hostilities in
East Timor and was thus not in the operational chain of
command. Thus, while his name may appear on East
Timor-related websites, he has no evident link to the
atrocities that occurred there.

-- BG Pramono Edhie Wibowo, Deputy Commander of the Army
Special Forces (KOPASSUS),to become Chief of Staff of
Military Area Command IV (Dipenogoro): Wibowo, another
brother-in-law of President Yudhoyono, had been a long-shot
candidate to become KOPASSUS commander, which could have been
problematic, given questions about his role in the events in

JAKARTA 00002528 002.2 OF 002


East Timor in 1999. (Note: Troops under his command were
assigned to East Timor during critical months in 1999,
although it is not clear whether he accompanied them or
whether he remained part of the chain of command. He was not
indicted by the Special Crimes Unit.) His assignment is a
lateral move to give him territorial experience.

-- MG Noer (Nur) Muis, Commander of Infantry Division I, Army
Strategic Command (KOSTRAD),to become Chief of Staff of Army
Strategic Command: Noer Muis was military commander in East
Timor from August 13, 1999, to March 30, 2000, and took
charge two weeks before the August 30, 1999, referendum that
gave East Timor its independence. In March 2003, an Ad Hoc
Human Rights Court in Jakarta convicted him of crimes against
humanity, and, in February 2003, the Special Panel in Dili
brought a similar charge in absentia. He was the first of
his class of 1976 to attain the rank of Brigadier General and
remains a high-flier in the TNI.

-- MG Zamroni, Commander of Military Area Command XVII
(Trikora),to become Assistant for Operations (ASOPS) at TNI
Headquarters: Zamroni is a former deputy chief of KOPASSUS,
was a commander in Aceh during Operation Restore Order and
was most recently commander in Papua. Zamroni has been
accused by some human rights NGOs as being responsible for
excesses during that time, although the evidence is somewhat
ambiguous. One of the key contenders for the ASOPS slot was
MG Hotmangaradja Pandjaitan, Commander of Army Territorial
Center and the son of one of the generals executed during the
political unrest in 1965. Pandjaitan, who is favorably known
to Mission, will instead become Assistant for Territorial
Affairs (ASTER) at TNI Headquarters. MG Bambang Darmono,
whom Zamroni replaces as ASOPS and who is also suspected of
having human rights issues, will become head of the Army
Education and Training Center (KODIKLAT) in Bandung.

-- MG Heryadi, Expert Staff for International Relations, to
become Assistant for Intelligence (ASINTEL) at TNI
Headquarters: Heryadi is believed to favor strong ties with
China.


5. (C) USG NEXT STEPS: Mission will continue to study the
list and review next steps on engagement. We will consider
meeting with appropriate GOI officials to express concern
about those recently promoted generals who have problematic
human rights records, particularly Noer Muis and Zamroni.

HUME