ABRI delays all arms purchase plans<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Armed Forces (ABRI) made a surprising
\ndecision yesterday to delay all planned arms purchases, including
\nthe Russian Sukhoi-30K jet fighters.<\/p>\n
Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. A. Wahab Mokodongan told
\njournalists that the monetary crisis had forced the military to
\ncut its spending.<\/p>\n
\"This move will save us about US$20 billion,\" he said, adding
\nthat the Armed Forces would ask the government to delay the
\nprocurement of the jet fighters and other military equipment in
\nthe wake of the economic crisis.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian government in August opted to buy 12 Sukhoi-30K
\njet fighters and eight MI-17-IV helicopters from Russia to
\nmodernize its air defense system.<\/p>\n
It switched to the Russian fighters after canceling the
\nplanned purchase of nine American-made F-16 jet fighters which,
\naccording to Jakarta, had been continuously linked to human
\nrights issues.<\/p>\n
The first batch of the Sukhoi fighters was expected to be
\ndelivered early this year.<\/p>\n
The Armed Forces also decided to delay the procurement of the
\nremaining three of the five submarines, which had been ordered
\nfrom Germany. The first two submarines were delivered last
\nSeptember.<\/p>\n
Wahab did not say how long the purchases would be suspended.<\/p>\n
The austerity measures were taken following an ABRI top brass
\nmeeting yesterday morning.<\/p>\n
The meeting also decided to gradually reduce the number of
\nIndonesian military attache posts at Indonesian representative
\noffices abroad by 70 percent.<\/p>\n
The meeting further decided to scale-down or cancel various
\nmilitary functions, ceremonies and trips abroad and nationwide.<\/p>\n
It was also decided that all large-scale military exercises
\nrequiring a huge budget would be scrapped or downgraded.<\/p>\n
When asked whether this meant that the military's state of
\nreadiness would lessen, Wahab said that the Armed Forces would
\nstill be in full control of any arising situation.<\/p>\n
He said the Armed Forces headquarters still perceived the
\nsituation was stable and within their control.<\/p>\n
\"Our troops will be ready in two to four hours, whenever the
\nsituation gets worse,\" he said. \"We are always prepared for the
\nworst possible situation.\"<\/p>\n
He warned that the Armed Forces would use a repressive
\napproach if the situation got out of control but added that \"this
\nwould only be the last resort\".<\/p>\n
Rumors<\/p>\n
Commenting on the recent panic buying at markets and stores,
\nWahab said Armed Forces Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung had ordered
\nofficers to help distribute food to the markets and monitor the
\nfood supply.<\/p>\n
Asked about the result of the Armed Forces' market operations,
\nWahab said one cooking oil distributor was found hiding large
\nstocks in his warehouse.<\/p>\n
\"The store owner kept the stocks, waiting for the price to
\nreach a higher level,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Wahab also called on the Indonesian media not to \"swallow\" all
\nrumors, including unconfirmed reports that President Soeharto had
\nfled the country, that ABRI chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung would be
\nreplaced Monday and that there would be a serious food shortage
\nduring the Moslem Ramadhan fasting month.<\/p>\n
Assessing the continuing slide of the rupiah, Wahab questioned
\nwhy Indonesia was the only country in the region to go through
\nsuch a severe turmoil.<\/p>\n
\"The rupiah has depreciated by 300 percent, compared with the
\nThai baht by 50 percent and other Asian countries are all below
\n100 percent. It shows that the Indonesian monetary crisis was not
\nmerely economical, but also a political problem,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Asked whether the Armed Forces would support growing calls for
\npresidential succession, Wahab responded only by saying that ABRI
\nmembers would always support the constitution. (imn)<\/p>",
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