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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 000008 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, DRL 
SECDEF FOR USAP/ISA/AP P.IPSEN 
NSC FOR E.PHU 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/02/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PREL MARR PHUM ID
SUBJECT: SENIOR MILITARY APPOINTMENTS SPELL MODERATE REFORM 
 
REF: A. 07 JAKARTA 3335 
 
     ¶B. 07 JAKARTA 3128 
     ¶C. 07 JAKARTA 3311 
 
Classified By: Pol/C Joseph Legend Novak, reasons 1.4 (b+d). 
 
¶1.  (C) SUMMARY:  President Yudhoyono appointed new chiefs of 
the Indonesian Army and Air Force on December 28.  The 
appointments spell continued moderate reform and seem 
positive for defense cooperation with the USG.  The new Air 
Force Chief confirmed plans to restore Indonesia's F-16 fleet 
as part of the force's modernization.  Separately, in a 
recent meeting, Aceh Governor Irwandi gave the Ambassador a 
positive assessment of a senior military leader accused of 
human rights violations.  Bio notes on the new Army and Air 
Force chiefs are included in Para 7.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) THE NEW CHIEFS:  In two recent changes, effective 
December 28, LTG Agustadi Sasongko Purnomo became the new 
Army Chief and Marshal Madya Subandrio became the new Air 
Force Chief.  Both men are moderate reformers, and neither 
has been accused of human rights violations.  They both are 
considered friendly to the USG and in favor of closer defense 
cooperation.  Bio sketches are provided below.  Purnomo 
replaced General Djoko Santoso, who was appointed the new TNI 
Chief (Panglima) on December 5 (ref a).  Earlier, Yudhoyono 
installed Admiral Djoko Sumardjono as the new Navy Chief on 
November 12 (ref b).  Subandrio replaced outgoing Air Marshal 
Herman Prayitno. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) At his swearing-in, new Army Chief Purnomo said 
professional development of personnel would be one of his top 
priorities, as part of the effort to reform, overhaul and 
reequip the Indonesian Army.  He also pledged that the Army 
would remain neutral in the 2009 elections, in line with the 
TNI's exit from politics in 2004.  Incoming Air Force Chief 
Subandrio said on December 29 that one of his priorities was 
to boost Air Force weaponry capability to 60 percent from the 
current level below 50 percent.  This would involve restoring 
the existing fleet of ten F-16s, only four of which currently 
fly, and the purchase of six new Sukhoi fighters from Russia 
to add to the current four.  (Note:  The Indonesian 
government and military have discussed with us plans for 
upgrading Indonesia's existing F-16 fleet as well as the 
possible purchase of new F-16s.) 
 
¶4.  (C) POSITIVE FOR U.S.:  Purnomo, whose record on human 
rights appears clean, was a better choice than General 
Syafrie Syamsuddin.  The controversial Syafrie, the 
English-speaking Deputy Defense Minister with prior U.S. 
training, has been accused of complicity in human rights 
violations committed in Jakarta in 1998.  Although Purnomo 
seems also to support engagement with the United States, his 
lack of English and U.S. training may hamper his ability to 
promote this.  That said, his appointment is positive and he 
is someone with whom we can work.  The appointment of Purnomo 
as Army Chief responds to the USG's concerns that Syafrie's 
promotion would have dampened U.S.-Indonesia mil-mil 
relations. 
 
¶5.  (C) SENIOR GENERAL EARNS GOOD MARKS:  In a discussion 
with the Ambassador on December 1 (ref c), i.e., before these 
appointments, Aceh Governor Yusuf Irwandi expressed concern 
about the anticipated change of commands within the TNI 
leadership and the implications for Aceh.  Irwandi asserted 
that most senior officers were inclined to whitewash news 
from the field and sweep inconvenient details under the 
carpet.  Fortunately, President Yudhoyono knew how to ask 
tough questions to get at the truth.  General Bambang 
Darmono, now in charge of the TNI's Training and Doctrine 
Command and previously Assistant Chief of Staff for 
Operations, was a notable exception, according to Irwandi, 
because Darmono routinely questioned information from the 
field.  Irwandi went to far as to say that Darmono's 
fair-minded assessments from the field made possible 
Jakarta's acceptance of the Ahtissaari-led MOU ending the 
Aceh conflict in 2005. 
 
 
JAKARTA 00000008  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶6.  (C) Darmono's past assignments in Aceh, including as 
commander of operations from 2002 to 2005, have laid him open 
to charges of human-rights violations by troops under his 
command during the military's campaign against the separatist 
Aceh Liberation Movement (GAM).  Irwandi's assessment, while 
not disputing that human rights violations occurred, paints 
Darmono's role in a very favorable light.  The fact that the 
comment comes from Irwandi, a former GAM leader, outweighs 
the more negative views of some observers. 
 
¶7.  (U) BIO NOTES: 
 
-- Agustadi Sasongko Purnomo is a graduate of the Indonesian 
Military Academy (1974), the Army War college (1989) and the 
Military Socio-Political Course (Sussospol) (1995).  Major 
past billets have included tours in Aceh (1991-1994), East 
Timor (1975, 1983) and Irian Jaya, Papua 2001).  Purnomo was 
Regional TNI Commander for the Jakarta Region in 2004-2006 
and, until his recent appointment, Secretary to Coordinating 
Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo Adi 
Sucipto.  He was born in Surabaya, East Java, on August 6, 
¶1952. 
 
-- Madya Subandrio is a graduate of the Air Force Academy 
(1975) and the Air Force Flight School (1977) who has had 
several operational commands, including Head of the Air Force 
Special Forces, Staff Assistant for Logistics at the Air 
Force Headquarters and, most recently, Deputy Air Force 
Chief.  He served as Director of Education, Deputy Commander 
and then Commander of the Air Force Academy.  He was born in 
Bandung, West Java, on March 22, 1953 and has three children. 
 
HUME