Military organizes antiterrorism drill

(Photo: Antara News)

January 31 2012, Bandung: In anticipation of a growing number of social conflicts, the Indonesian Military (TNI) is organizing an antiterrorism drill to help soldiers build synergy among different military units.

In his opening speech, military chief Adm. Agus Suhartono predicted in the near future national security would become more complicated.

“The drill is expected to build teamwork among members of the different forces,” the military chief’s operational assistant Hambali Hanafiah said, reading out the written speech of the military chief in a ceremony at the Sulaiman Airbase in Bandung, West Java, on Monday.

The military chief cited some armed conflicts in Papua and Aceh that had disrupted public security and order. Given the security condition, he said, the Indonesian military had to anticipate threats to national unity.

The antiterrorism drill involved of the military special forces such as the Army’s Special Forces (Kopassus)’s antiterrorism unit, the Navy’s Jalamangkaran detachment and the Air Force’s Bravo-90 detachment, Antara reported.

The antiterrorism drill started Monday at the Halim Perdanakusuma airbase in Jakarta and will be continued at Husein Sastranegara airbase in Bandung on the second and third day.

Source: the Jakarta Post

Indonesia targets broader supply base amid sanctions concern

BMP-3F Indonesia Marines. (Foto: Indonesia Marine Corps)

January 20 2012: Indonesia's senior military commander has vowed to encourage the government to continue diversifying its suppliers of materiel in light of concerns that sanctions might be imposed on the country over allegations of human rights abuses.

Admiral Agus Suhartono, the commander-in-chief of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (Tentara Nasional Indonesia - TNI), said in comments published by state-run news agency Antara on 18 January that the TNI remains aware that procurement plans could be restricted by the possibility of a military embargo being imposed on the country. In recent months Washington has restated its concern about human rights in Indonesia.

"A possible embargo has always been a reason for the TNI to feel worried when it wants to procure weapons from overseas," said Suhartono. "We, as users, always study what will meet our needs and which country [the equipment can] be acquired from. Only after [confirmation that we can purchase the equipment] will we do it through a contract."


Source: Janes

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.(Foto: abror/presidensby.info)

January 20, 2012, Jakarta: Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Friday asked military officers to better understand international laws, and take a peaceful solution as their first choice in resolving conflict with other countries. "Please carry out standard of operation well. The procedure is well accepted in any country," President Yudhoyono said at the Police Academy here.

The president made the statement after the military was criticized for its handling of conflicts and problems in some remote areas in the vast archipelago country, such as Papua.

While rejected the criticism, Yudhoyono asked the military to safeguard the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Indonesia peacefully settled the three-decade insurgency and integrated the rebels into the local community in the northern tip of Sumatra island of Aceh in August 2007 thanks to the assistance of international community.

However, the separatist free Papua movement, known as OPM ( Organisasi Papua Merdeka), still poses a threat to the government as the group has often targeted civilians, workers and facility of U.S. mining giant PT Freeport in Papua that killed dozens of people.

On the level of ASEAN, President Yudhoyono asked the military officer to comply with the Treaty and Committee Cooperation that put dialogue on priority.

"The point is that should there be a conflict in the region we are obligated to settle it peacefully. That is the main idea of ASEAN. And it has been supported by other ASEAN member countries and other countries," said Yudhoyono.

Nevertheless, the president said that it did not mean that the military must give up military means.

Source: Xinhua

TNI looking to join war on terror

January 19 2012, Jakarta: The Indonesian Military (TNI) said that it would not be making quick decisions on whether to deploy its personnel to join the nation’s fight against terrorism.TNI chief Adm. Agus Suhartono said a joint team from the military, the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) and the National Police was now working on the details of the standard operation procedure that would allow military personnel to join the fight against terror.

“We are still completing the procedure. We want to make sure that when we finally deploy our personnel we will not violate any laws or regulations,” Agus said in a press briefing at TNI headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta, on Wednesday.

Agus, however, maintained that to date, the military had been involved in preventive measures and had conducted early detections in relation to possible terrorist activities throughout the country.

In a speech made during the 66th anniversary of the TNI, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that it should join the counterterrorism effort.The TNI could have a greater role in the fight against terrorism with the endorsement of the National Security Bill, which may give the TNI broader authorities relating to the realm of counterterrorism.

But as the House of Representatives was dragging its feet on the bill’s deliberation, it would take a while before the TNI could join the effort.

In a statement published on Jan. 9, the International Crisis Group (ICG) said a larger role for the TNI in the fight against terrorism “was not a good idea”.“However logical it may seem on the surface, the TNI is now almost 10 years out of date in understanding the nature of the terrorist threat,” said Sidney Jones, senior advisor with ICG’s Southeast Asia office.

Jones further said that without specialized knowledge of how extremist groups function in Indonesia today, the TNI’s involvement will bring no added value to the fight against terrorism.

“It is more likely to bring confusion, competition and duplication of effort,” she said in the statement.

The draft of a revision to the existing Counterterrorism Law made available to The Jakarta Post was expected to boost the power of the nation’s law enforcers to act in countering terrorism in its infancy and also to prevent radical movements from growing and inciting violence.

A draft from the Law and Human Rights Ministry revealed several key articles that may help counterterrorism officers launch preemptive measures.

One of the key points stipulates the prosecution of any individual who incites hatred that then compels followers to commit violence. If proven in a court of law, the individual would face a prison sentence of between five and 12 years.

Security expert from the University of Indonesia, Andi Widjajanto, said that the proposal in the draft could yield opposition from civil society groups because of the proposal’s potential for limiting civil liberties.“It has the potential to violate freedom of speech and freedom of assembly,” he said.

“On the detention issue for example, I learned that the revision proposes a longer detention period from only seven days detention without legal assistance to 120 days,” he said.

Separately, Eva Kusuma Sundari, a member of the House’s Commission III on legal affairs and laws, human rights and security, said that lawmakers had not yet prioritized the revision of the anti-terrorism law.

“We are currently deliberating the Child Protection bill and the Corruption Eradication Commission bill,” she said.

Source: the Jakarta Post

PNG accepts RI jet intercept story

January 9 2012, Jakarta: Papua New Guinea (PNG) says it has accepted Indonesia’s explanation over the Air Force jets scrambled to meet a plane carrying top PNG diplomats through Indonesian airspace.

Bilateral relations between the countries remained “solid” and needed to be further expanded, PNG Prime Minister Peter O’ Neill said according to a statement, a copy of which was obtained by The Jakarta Post.

O’ Neill earlier threatened to expel Indonesian Ambassador to PNG Andreas Sitepu from Port Moresby, following reports that two Air Force jets intercepted a PNG Falcon jet carrying Deputy Prime Minister Belden Namah and other senior officials to PNG from Malaysia on Nov. 29.

Indonesian Foreign Ministry Marty Natalegawa summoned PNG Ambassador to Indonesia Peter Ilau on Friday to offer an explanation for the incident.

On Monday, the PNG government issued a press statement announcing its satisfaction.

“Prime Minister O’Neill is satisfied with the Indonesian government’s response to the mid-air incident involving the Falcon jet and reassures Indonesia on maintaining diplomatic relations,” the PNG Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration said in the statement.

“Prime Minister O’Neill accepted and thanked the Indonesian government for its high-level and prompt explanation that the incident arose out of a ‘discrepancy of the original flight clearance authority’ issued
by the Indonesian government for the Falcon aircraft.”

The Indonesian government said that the approval for the Falcon jet to use Indonesian airspace was for the period of Dec. 3 -7, and not Nov. 29, the day of the incident, the statement further said.

The Indonesian government was also quoted as saying that the TNI’s interception of the PNG jet was to “visually identify the aircraft” and that it was in line with “strict domestic standard operating procedures and normal international aviation practices” to deal with such situations.

“When it was established that the aircraft belonged to the PNG government, the Indonesian Air Force fighter jets retreated. The Indonesian government is still carrying out further investigation internally to verify if there was any formal approval granted for the Falcon jet to use Indonesian airspace on November 29, 2011,” PNG added in the statement.

Source: the Jakarta Post

RI should apologize to PNG, expert says

A Sukhoi Indonesia Air Forces. Two Sukhois intercepted a PNG jet in November 2011. (Photo: Indonesi Air Force)

January 8 2012, Jakarta: : Poor coordination between the Foreign Ministry and the Indonesian Military (TNI) was likely the main cause of a November incident in which two TNI aircraft intercepted a Papua New Guinea jet, an expert says.

“It seems there was faulty coordination between the Foreign Ministry and the TNI over a VVIP flight path the PNG [falcon jet was taking],” University of Indonesia defense expert Andi Widjajanto told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

The incident took place on Nov. 29, 2011, when PNG’s deputy prime minister and several senior government officials passed through Indonesian airspace on their way home from Kuala Lumpur.

PNG Prime Minister Peter O’Neil threatened on Friday to expel Indonesian Ambassador to PNG Andreas Sitepu from Port Moresby if the Indonesian government failed to provide an explanation for the incident within 48 hours, as reported by radioaustralianews.net.au.

The ministry said later the National Air Defense Command (Kohanudnas) had identified the aircraft on radar and had scrambled fighter jets to make visual contact with the aircraft, all according to standard procedure, and that no harm had occurred.

But the Defense Ministry refused to acknowledge the incident.

Source: the Jakarta Post

Defense ministry denies RI mily planes tried to intercept PNG jet

January 6 2012, Jakarta: Indonesia`s Defense Ministry has firmly denied a report that two Indonesian military aircraft almost collided with a jet carrying PNG (Papua New Guinea) senior officials.

"No Indonesian military aircraft was in operation on November 29, the date on which the incident allegedly took place," the ministry`s spokesman, Hartind Asrin, said here on Friday.

A statement to the same effect was issued by Indonesian Air Force spokesman Commodore Azman Yunus. According to data of the Indonesian Air Force`s Operations Center, he said, no military aircraft operated in the eastern part of Indonesia on that particular date.

"None of our radars placed in the eastern part of Indonesia namely at Saumlaki, Biak and Merauke, showed a record of any flight conducted by foreign planes above Indonesian territory on the date mentioned," he added.

Azman said the PNG government must specify the exact position where the incident took place and the type of military aircraft that allegedly almost collided with the jet carrying PNG`s deputy prime minister.

Earlier, Radio Australia News reported the PNG parliament- endorsed prime minister, Peter O`Neil, had threatened to expel the Indonesian ambassador because of an incident in Indonesian airspace last November.

Two Indonesian military aircraft allegedly almost collided with a jet carrying PNG`s deputy prime minister and other senior government officials who were returning from Malaysia.

There were allegations the Indonesian military was tracking the PNG government officials.

O`Neill`s deputy, Belden Namah, said it was an act of aggression and intimidation.

"I am very angry. I demand an explanation; if I do not get it within 48 hours all diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea will be strained," Namah said.

"I have already spoken to the ambassador and if it means we have to get the ambassador to leave this country and withdraw our ambassador from Jakarta, we will certainly do so," he said.

Source: ANTARA News

Indonesia-PNG Relations Tight Following Jet Interception Incident

January 7 2012, Jakarta: Relations between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea (PNG) is in jeopardy following a jet interception incident in Indonesian air territory in November last year.

The issue emerged as PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill has threatened to expel Indonesian Ambassador Andreas Sitepu from Port Moresby, a report by radioasutralianews.net.au unveiled on Friday.

He said that two Indonesian Military (TNI) aircraft almost collided with a jet carrying PNG Deputy Prime Minister Belden Namah and senior government officials who were returning from Malaysia.

Namah said that the TNI aircraft were acting aggressively with an intention to intimidate.

"I am very angry. I demand an explanation. If I do not get an explanation within 48 hours, all diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea will be strained," he said.

He said that he has already spoken to the Indonesian ambassador. "And if this means we have to get the ambassador to leave this country and withdraw our ambassador from Jakarta, we will do so," he said.

The Indonesian government defended the action, saying that it was in line with procedures, with no intention to put the jet in jeopardy.

"On Jan. 6 evening, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa has summoned Papua New Guinea Ambassador for Indonesia Peter Ilau to explain the interception that was conducted due to technical problem in clearance flight," the Foreign Ministry said in a press statement.

It said that the step by the TNI Air Force to intercept the PNG jet was in line with procedures existing in Indonesia and in other countries in common.

"The action taken by the Commando of National Air Defense ( KOHANUDNAS) was conducting electronic identification with radar and visual identification by an interception based on standard procedures," said the ministry.

It said that the action was taken as there was a data difference between KOHANUDNAS' flight clearance with the airport's radar identification and KOHANUDNAS' radar identification.

"(However), the interception conducted by TNI Air Force's aircraft was in line with procedures and never jeopardized the jet, " it said.

The statement added that Ambassador Ilau has appreciated Natalegawa's explanation and would pass on the message to his government.

Teuku Faizasyah, Indonesian presidential spokesperson for foreign relations, told Beritasatu.com online news reported that Natalegawa has reported the progress to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Source: XINHUA