Identifier | Created | Classification | Origin |
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07JAKARTA2528 | 2007-09-12 03:16:00 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Jakarta |
VZCZCXRO4906 OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM DE RUEHJA #2528/01 2550316 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 120316Z SEP 07 FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6199 INFO RHHJJPI/USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 1149 RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 1740 RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0776 RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 4298 RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 1347 RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 4186 RUEHPB/AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY 3435 |
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 002528 |
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 |