Envoy summoned over use of riot control equipment<\/p>\n
By Rikza Abdullah<\/p>\n
LONDON (JP): The British Foreign Office has summoned
\nIndonesian ambassador to Britain J.E. Habibie, questioning him on
\nthe recent use of British-made military equipment for controlling
\nriots in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
"I explained to the foreign office officials yesterday that
\nthe riot control equipment has been used properly by security
\npersonnel to overcome riots, in order to restore order," Habibie
\ntold Indonesian reporters here on Friday.<\/p>\n
The Independent newspaper reported Friday that the riot
\ncontrol equipment used by Indonesian security personnel to
\novercome the recent rioting in Jakarta included Tactica armored
\npersonnel carriers made by Glover Webb of Hamble, part of the
\nBritish defense network, and electric shock batons manufactured
\nby a South African associate of SDMS Security Products of London.<\/p>\n
Ambassador Habibie said that the foreign office officials were
\n"actually very cordial and friendly". He said they summoned him
\nwhen pressured by an opposition party, which alleged that the
\nequipment had been used to suppress "peaceful protests" in
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
The riots caused the death of three people, injured many
\nothers and damaged several buildings and motor vehicles.<\/p>\n
The riots were believed to have been triggered by the
\nmilitary-backed takeover of the Indonesian Democratic Party's
\nheadquarters in Central Jakarta on July 27. It was reported that
\nsupporters of Soerjadi, who was elected chairman in a government-
\nsponsored congress last month, evicted supporters of the party's
\nousted chairwoman, Megawati Soekarnoputri.<\/p>\n
The ambassador said the British officials could understand his
\nexplanations.<\/p>\n
The Independent reported that the British foreign office had
\nreceived assurances from the Indonesian government that the
\nBritish-built Scorpion 90 tanks would not be used for internal
\nrepression.<\/p>\n
Hawk<\/p>\n
Habibie said the British officials had also asked for his
\ncomments about this week's acquittal by a Liverpool jury of four
\nwomen who had damaged a Hawk jet fighter originally intended for
\ndelivery to Indonesia.<\/p>\n
According to the ambassador, the women axed the fighter out of
\nconcern that the aircraft might be used to attack people in East
\nTimor, a former Portuguese colony integrated into Indonesia in
\n1976.<\/p>\n
The damage was estimated at 1.5 million pounds.<\/p>\n
"I told the British officials that the women's case is an
\ninternal affair in which Indonesia does not want to interfere,"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
"Furthermore, because the aircraft has not been delivered to
\nIndonesia, it is still the responsibility of Britain."<\/p>\n
Indonesia has ordered 24 Hawk fighters, eight of which were
\ndelivered recently. The remainder will be delivered within the
\nnext four years.<\/p>\n
"I wondered how those women could have such a negative
\npresumption on the possibility of using the fighters aircraft to
\nattack East Timor," Habibie said, pointing out that the
\nIndonesian government will never resort to such action.<\/p>\n
"We hope the incident will not affect relations between
\nBritain and Indonesia," he said.<\/p>\n
He said bilateral relations with Britain have been improving.
\nIn commerce, for example, Britain's two-way trade increased by
\n24.43 percent to 1.43 billion pounds last year from 1.14 billion
\npounds in 1994, he said, quoting data from the Overseas
\nStatistics of the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n
During the first quarter of this year, the two-way trade rose
\n2.9 percent to 351.5 million pounds from 341.4 million in the
\nsame period of 1995.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/envoy-summoned-over-use-of-riot-control-equipment-1447893297",
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