Defense ministry not involved in Sukhoi purchase: Officials<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Officials with the Ministry of Defense on Monday told the House
\nof Representatives' inquiry on the purchase of Russian jets that
\nthe ministry was not involved in the deal, confirming previous
\nreports of procedural violations in the purchase.<\/p>\n
The ministry's director general for defense strategy Maj. Gen.
\nSudradjat said that the ministry was not involved because the
\nmoney was not taken from its budget.<\/p>\n
Sudradjat, however, refused to say there was a procedural
\nviolation in the purchase of Russian military equipment.<\/p>\n
\"It would be better if people from all the related
\ninstitutions sat and discussed the issue together,\" Sudradjat
\ntold the press after a hearing with the House committee of
\ninquiry into the Sukhoi deal.<\/p>\n
Moreover, Sudradjat said that the US$192.6 million Sukhoi deal
\nwas unique because it embraced countertrade, involving a number
\nof local commodities, including crude palm oil.<\/p>\n
He reiterated that the defense ministry was not involved in
\nthe deal but had technical cooperation with Russia, especially in
\nthe defense sector and transfer of technology.<\/p>\n
Also attending the hearing on Monday were the ministry's
\nsecretary-general Suprihadi and the ministry's director general
\nof defense equipment Maj. Gen. Aqlani Maza.<\/p>\n
Unlike the previous hearings, legislators were less
\nenthusiastic to give information to the press.<\/p>\n
Deputy committee chairman Effendi Choirie of the National
\nAwakening Party (PKB) who willingly briefed the press on previous
\nhearings was reticent on Monday, as was Djoko Susilo of the
\nReform faction.<\/p>\n
It's not clear what made them unwilling to provide details of
\nthe hearing.<\/p>\n
Some sources said, however, some legislators were becoming
\ndisinterested in the inquiry as most people invited to speak in
\nthe hearing appeared to defend the Sukhoi deal and nobody
\nrevealed damaging evidence linked to the suspected
\nirregularities.<\/p>\n
The controversy emerged after President Megawati Soekarnoputri
\nsealed the purchase of four Sukhoi jets and two assault
\nhelicopters during her visit to Russia in April.<\/p>\n
The purchase of the jet fighters and helicopters which took
\nplace without consultation with the House had enraged legislators
\nwho later formed a committee of inquiry into the deal.<\/p>\n
Before the inquiry began last week, news circulated that the
\ndeal was brokered by businessmen close to the President. And even
\nthe President's son-in-law was mentioned.<\/p>\n
During the hearings, however, no one mentioned the involvement
\nof the President's inner circle. Even businessman Anton Sulaiman,
\nwho admitted being close to the President's husband Taufik
\nKiemas, said that he was not in Russia when the deal was struck.<\/p>\n
A number of officials and businessmen invited to the hearings,
\nhowever, gave different or even contradictory accounts.<\/p>\n
Widjanarko Puspoyo, head of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog)
\nwhich financed the purchase of the jets, for instance, disclosed
\nthat the deal had been discussed among military officials.<\/p>\n
However, Sudar, the Ministry of Industry and Trade's director
\ngeneral for international trade, stated that the main purpose in
\nthe Sukhoi deal was to expand markets for Indonesian commodities,
\nnot to purchase Sukhoi jets.<\/p>\n
In an effort to clarify the conflicting statements, the TNI
\nchief and other officials from the military are expected to
\nappear before the inquiry on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The inquiry will also hear on Tuesday an explanation from
\nMinister of Industry and Trade Rini MS Soewandi who played a
\nmajor role in the purchase.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/defense-ministry-not-involved-in-sukhoi-purchase-officials-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}