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Jokowi flexes muscles to maintain stability
Jakarta Post - November 11, 2016
Jokowi, unlike his predecessor Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, is a civilian with no military background. On Thursday he visited the headquarters of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) in Cijantung, East Jakarta, a visit he claimed was part of National Heroes Day commemorations.
To balance against the threat of another street protest that many expect to take place on Nov. 25, Jokowi signalled that as the highest commander of the armed forces, he could deploy the elite forces at a moment's notice.
"Here, there is the Sandhi Yudha [unit], other commandos and the Gultor [unit]. These are the reserve forces that I, as the highest military commander, through the chief of the Indonesian Military [TNI], could deploy for certain needs," Jokowi said.
Sandhi Yudha is a combat intelligence unit that runs clandestine operations and counterinsurgency, and Gultor is an anti-terrorism unit.
As a follow-up to the Nov. 4 rally, which ended in violence, Muslim groups have pledged to stage another rally on Nov. 25 to put pressure on the Jakarta Police to expedite their probe into the alleged blasphemy involving incumbent Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama.
In the days following the rally, Jokowi took steps to tell the public that he was in charge of the situation.
Jokowi started his week by visiting the Army's headquarters, where he told more than 2,000 military personnel from various elite units, such as the Army Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad), Air Force Special Forces (Paskhas) and the Navy's Marine Corps, that he was the highest military commander in the land and ordered them "not to tolerate any movement aimed at dividing the nation with provocative [actions]".
On Tuesday, Jokowi paid a visit to the National Police headquarters where he also told the police to remain steadfast against pressures from provocative groups and certain interests.
During his visit to the Kopassus headquarters, Jokowi was joined by TNI commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo, an apparent move designed to quash speculation that Jokowi would dismiss Gatot for his defense of the rights of Muslim groups to stage a protest against Ahok.
Unconfirmed reports have published quotes allegedly from Gatot, criticizing Jokowi for treating protesters like terrorists.
Jokowi shrugged off the rumors on Wednesday, saying that: "This is why I brought along the TNI chief with me here to emphasize that there is no plan to dismiss the TNI chief. The rumors are aimed at increasing tension."
Gatot also denied that he made statements criticizing the President. Gatot stated that he would continue to pledge his loyalty to the President. Gatot blamed the rumors on a proxy war aimed at attacking the country's unity.
Two years into his administration, Jokowi is getting more confident in dealing with the military as indicated by his decision to wear a suit and tie during his trip to the Kopassus headquarters.
Last year, Jokowi was seen at least twice wearing military fatigues, including during an occasion when he met with leaders of a Muslim group at the State Palace. The State Palace immediately said that Jokowi did not have time to change and was forced to hold the meeting in military fatigues.
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/11/11/jokowi-flexes-muscles-maintain-stability.html.
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