Police confirm training with U.S.<\/p>\n
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar confirmed on Thursday
\nplans for counterterrorism training with the United States, but
\nsaid only 144 police personnel would be involved in the exercise.<\/p>\n
He also said the exercise would be conducted in Indonesia, but
\ndid not say where nor when, nor did he divulge information on
\nwhen the deal was reached.<\/p>\n
According to Da'i, there would be six training sessions, each
\ninvolving 24 police personnel.<\/p>\n
The Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER) reported on Wednesday
\nthat a total of 400 officers of Detachment 88 would be trained as
\na crack squad to lead the country's fight against terrorism.<\/p>\n
The FEER article also mentioned that US$16 million had been
\nspent on state-of-the-art communications equipment, night vision
\ngear, technical support and weaponry for the program.<\/p>\n
\"No, we are not planning to train 400 officers. Instead, our
\nplan for 2003-2004 is to conduct training exercises for 144
\nofficers as part of our ongoing antiterrorism efforts,\" said
\nDa'i.<\/p>\n
He said that a group of U.S. security experts would train the
\nofficers, but did not reveal details. He also did not comment on
\nthe funds involved.<\/p>\n
\"We hope that the exercises will strengthen the police's
\nability to combat terrorism and augment our antiterrorism squad.\"<\/p>\n
The police currently have a special antiterrorism squad of 69
\npersonnel led by a one-star general.<\/p>\n
The training program is part of Indonesia's contribution to
\nthe war against terror. Many international analysts have accused
\nIndonesia of harboring terrorists, a charge that government
\nofficials and other parties have vehemently denied.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has been a victim of terrorism through a series of
\nbombings that have rocked several parts of the country since 2000
\n-- most notably the October 2002 Bali bombings, in which at least
\n202 people were killed and over 300 injured, and the Marriott
\nhotel attack on Aug. 5 in Jakarta, in which 12 people were killed
\nand about 150 injured.<\/p>\n
The police have arrested more than 50 people since the two
\nincidents, with almost 30 perpetrators and accomplices tried and
\nconvicted. Three of the key perpetrators have been given the
\ndeath penalty. Both the Bali and Marriott attacks were allegedly
\ncarried out by the regional terrorist network, the Jamaah
\nIslamiyah.<\/p>\n
Da'i acknowledged that the police lacked the personnel and
\nweaponry to effectively combat terrorism.<\/p>\n
\"The training programs are timely, because the challenge is
\ngrowing more and more,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The U.S. government has not been involved in any military
\ntraining or military weapons sales programs with the Indonesian
\nMilitary (TNI) since 1999, when Congress passed an amendment
\nbarring funding for such activities until Indonesia accounted for
\nTNI's role in the massacre in East Timor that same year.<\/p>\n
However, some public and political figures have opined that
\nthe training programs and the funding were intentionally given to
\nthe police, instead of the TNI, to show the U.S.' dissatisfaction
\nwith the country's failure to bring to justice those TNI members
\nallegedly involved in the human rights violations in East Timor.<\/p>\n
Congress has provided $8 million in financial aid for the
\nIndonesian police since last year.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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