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Politics creep into military ranks
A recent attempt to reshuffle top Indonesian Military (TNI) officers, which was followed almost immediately by its reversal, has raised fresh concerns over growing political interference in the armed forces.
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In step: Army personnel march on Oct. 5, 2024, in Banda Aceh, Aceh, during an event marking the 79th anniversary of the Indonesian Military (TNI). (AFP/Chaideer Mahyuddin)
A
recent attempt to reshuffle top Indonesian Military (TNI) officers, which was followed almost immediately by its reversal, has raised fresh concerns over growing political interference in the armed forces.
The episode unfolded shortly after a group of retired generals publicly called for the removal of Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, fueling questions about constitutional boundaries between civil and military authority.
The aborted reshuffle marks the latest chapter in the military’s renewed prominence in political discourse, as the administration of Prabowo Subianto pushes to expand the TNI’s role in civilian life, most notably through the recent controversial amendment to the TNI Law.
Last week, TNI commander Gen. Agus Subiyanto issued a decree reassigning some 200 high-ranking officers, including First Joint Regional Defense Command (Pangkogabwilhan I) chief Lt. Gen. Kunto Arief Wibowo, who was moved to a less strategic post at TNI headquarters with no operational command.
The reshuffle came after Kunto’s father, former vice president Try Sutrisno, who is himself a retired Army general, backed calls from the group of retired generals under the banner “Retired TNI Soldiers Forum” demanding the removal of Gibran, the son of former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.
This provoked questions about political motives, with some observers viewing it as a political retaliation against the demands of the group of retirees, which TNI spokesperson Brig. Gen. Kristomei Sianturi has denied.
However, a day after the announcement, the TNI chief walked back part of the personnel shake-up and issued a new decree that revoked the transfers of Kunto and six other senior officers, raising speculations about Prabowo’s interference.
