Military is not planning coup: Army retirees

The Association of Indonesian Army Retirees (PPAD) says the military has no plans to overthrow the government, unlike what was recently reported by Al Jazeera.

“Once again I say, the TNI does not have that kind of attitude and was not taught to do such things. We do not have any desire to move towards [a coup] either,” PPAD chair Lieut. Gen. (Ret.) Soerjadi said, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Al Jazeera reported that a number of retired generals were backing unrest fueled by hard line religious groups in the country in a plot to topple President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Soerjadi said TNI members were actively holding discussions about recent issues.

“Chatting yes, but never have we planned a coup, we are already ‘coughing’ like this, how can we be referred to as planning a coup,” he said.

Soejadi said that people “everywhere, even in sidewalk stalls” are talking about their dissatisfaction with the government and the issue was not exclusive to retired generals.