Illegal guns enter Indonesia through four countries<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Arms smuggled into the country from Thailand, Malaysia, the
\nPhilippines and Australia have been responsible for fueling the
\nviolence in conflicts across the nation, a senior intelligence
\nofficer said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
State Intelligence Agency (BIN) deputy chief Brig. Gen. Bom
\nSoerjanto said that the illegal arms trade highlighted the need
\nfor cooperation with neighboring countries.<\/p>\n
\"There is an agreement for close cooperation (with ASEAN
\nmembers) as it is assumed that these developments threaten
\nregional stability,\" Bom said in his paper presented during a
\ndiscussion on transnational crimes among ASEAN members.<\/p>\n
Smugglers in Thailand and Malaysia, he said, had supplied arms
\nto separatists in Aceh and Irian Jaya, as well as warring Muslim
\nand Christian groups in Maluku.<\/p>\n
The Philippines has also sold arms to warring groups in
\nMaluku, while separatists in Papua have bought additional arms
\nfrom Australia.<\/p>\n
Bom said the rise in small arms trafficking came on the heels
\nof an increase in armed conflicts, which have spurred demand for
\nthe weapons.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has become a hotbed of communal conflicts since
\n1998, with the addition of possible terrorist activities.<\/p>\n
The outbreak of violence has been attributed to the collapse
\nof law and order that followed the 1998 downfall of Soeharto and
\nhis iron grip over the sprawling archipelago.<\/p>\n
A paper by the customs and excise office quoting the March
\n2001 edition of Jane's Intelligence Review cited Thailand, India,
\nHong Kong, Taiwan and Sabah in Malaysia as transit points for
\nsmuggled arms.<\/p>\n
The magazine listed China, North Korea, Cambodia, Myanmar and
\nPakistan as among the producers or key suppliers of smuggled
\narms.<\/p>\n
Pakistan's Inter Service Intelligence (ISI), it said, had
\naccess to three million AK-47s stockpiled from the Afghanistan
\nwar against Russia. Of that amount, about 70 percent had
\ndisappeared.<\/p>\n
\"The number of arms-producing countries has grown, so there is
\nmore access for those who wish to own these illegal weapons,\" the
\npaper said.<\/p>\n
It said the trade of small and light arms was lucrative since
\nthey were mobile, inexpensive, durable, required minimum
\nmaintenance and there was a high demand for them.<\/p>\n
Falling under the category of small arms were, among other
\nthings, self-loading pistols, rifles, submachine guns, assault
\nrifles and light machine guns.<\/p>\n
One notch up the scale are light arms, such as heavy machine
\nguns, portable rocket launchers and antiaircraft missile systems.<\/p>\n
The paper said 19 countries in the Asia Pacific region had
\nproduced small arms, including Indonesia and five other ASEAN
\nmembers.<\/p>\n
\"This region is host to the various armed conflicts and
\nrebellions, making trafficking and the use of illegal arms more
\nwidespread and uncontrollable,\" it said.<\/p>\n
With a coastline stretching 81,000 kilometers and 17,506
\nislands dotting the country, Indonesia's territory is difficult
\nto guard by any standard.<\/p>\n
Adding to this is the poor condition of the Navy and the
\nNational Police in charge of curbing smuggling activities.<\/p>\n
Director of the Police Intelligence Body Brig. Gen. T. Ashikin
\nHusein said the police force was undermanned and under-equipped
\nto make any difference in the struggle against curbing arms
\nsmuggling.<\/p>\n
He said smugglers owned speed boats that were much faster than
\nthose used by the police. \"They wave goodbye to us every time we
\ntry to go after them.\"<\/p>\n
The government's chief negotiator in talks with the Free Aceh
\nMovement (GAM), Wiryono Sastrohandoyo, said that Indonesia must
\nincrease its cooperation with other countries to stem the inflow
\nof illegal arms.<\/p>\n
Quoting research conducted by an Australian Federal Police
\nanalyst, Sandy Gordon, he said that the Asia Pacific region
\ncovered just three percent of the entire Interpol operation,
\nindicating the minimal use of available resources to fight
\ntransnational crimes.<\/p>\n
ASEAN has signed several agreements to fight transnational
\ncrimes together, but Wiryono said Indonesia's main contribution
\nshould come from maintaining national stability.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/illegal-guns-enter-indonesia-through-four-countries-1447893297",
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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