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Jokowi swears in new TNI commander, Army chief of staff
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo swore in on Wednesday his sole nominee for the post of new Indonesian Military (TNI) commander, Gen. Andika Perkasa, along with Gen. Dudung Abdurrachman, previously the Army’s Strategic Reserves commander (Pangkostrad), as the Army’s new chief of staff.
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President Joko " Jokowi" Widodo inaugurates Gen. Andika Perkasa as the new Indonesian Military (TNI) chief during a ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, November 17, 2021. (Indonesia's Presidential Palace/Handout via REUTERS/ Agus Suparto)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo swore in on Wednesday his sole nominee for the post of new Indonesian Military (TNI) commander, Gen. Andika Perkasa, along with Gen. Dudung Abdurrachman, previously the Army’s Strategic Reserves commander (Pangkostrad), as the Army’s new chief of staff.
Andika replaced the now retired Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto. While Dudung, who garnered controversy when serving as the Jakarta Military commander, took the position left vacant by Andika.
Human rights activists say the onus is now on Andika, who may have only 13 months to serve in the TNI’s top position before his mandatory retirement, to peacefully resolve conflicts in Papua amid increasing tensions and human rights violations in the region.
During his confirmation hearing at the House of Representatives last week, Andika promised to take a “softer approach” to handling a recent uptick in the Papuan conflict, and to restore the TNI to its proper role in accordance with prevailing laws.
“We can no longer act arbitrarily, as if we have the authority [to take certain actions when we do not]. We will carry out our duties in accordance with the law,” he said at the time.
Read also: Andika vows to sort out TNI’s role
He said the TNI would now use territorial units, such as district military commands (Kodim), enlisted officers (Tamtama) and noncommissioned officers deployed as village supervisory officers (Babinsa), instead of a more combat-centric approach, which has been the norm for his predecessors and which has been marred by human rights violations.
