The `mole' in 'Radio Australia'<\/p>\n
Dewi Anggraeni, Contributor, Melbourne, Australia<\/p>\n
He was once rumored to have been paid by the CIA. He was
\naround when the country's first president, Sukarno, finally gave
\nway to his successor, Soeharto. He also witnessed Soeharto fall
\nfrom power, and B.J. Habibie take over the presidency then
\nsubsequently lose the election to Abdurrahman Wahid. He was again
\nphysically present when Abdurrahman lost out to the current
\npresident, Megawati Soekarnoputri.<\/p>\n
Having seen how fragile power is, and how ephemeral a powerful
\nposition can be, probably made Hidayat Djajamihardja realize the
\nutter importance of humility and integrity.<\/p>\n
If Hidayat had to write a curriculum vitae stating only the
\nnames of his employers, he would only have two: High Level
\nOperational Commando (KOTI) and Radio Australia. However, if he
\nhad to write down all the interesting assignments he had
\ncompleted, Hidayat could write a book.<\/p>\n
Since his time with KOTI was brief, if Hidayat looked at his
\nlife, apart from his wonderful and supportive family, everywhere
\nhe looked he would see the overwhelming presence of Radio
\nAustralia, though the scenes would be incredibly varied.<\/p>\n
Some of the scenes would have him following rowdy election
\ncampaigns in different Indonesian cities at different times, or
\nbeing told to stay put in Biak while being followed wherever he
\nwent, or having a rock thrown through the back window of the car
\nhe was traveling in, in Dili, or sitting working in a relatively
\npeaceful studio at the ABC Center.<\/p>\n
His work as a radio journalist has also brought various
\nfriendships and fall-outs with numerous personalities. One such
\nexperience he recounted happened in the then West Irian in April
\n1969.<\/p>\n
In February that year Hidayat went to West Irian to gather
\ninformation for his program. As soon as he arrived in Biak
\nairport, he was greeted by former colleagues from KOTI who had
\nbeen posted to Biak. In their excitement of seeing and chatting
\nwith him, his friends forgot to stamp his pass.<\/p>\n
When the territory was closed on April 1 leading up to the Act
\nof Free Choice, Hidayat realized he still had his unstamped pass.
\nHaving rung his boss in Singapore and told him he would be able
\nto cover events in West Irian as he had a valid pass, Hidayat
\nmade preparations and left for Biak at the end of April.<\/p>\n
The day he arrived there was unrest in Enarotali, where
\nindigenous teacher aides, angry at not having received any pay,
\ncalled for the non-indigenous teachers, mostly from Java, to
\nleave. The atmosphere was ripe for confrontation, with Free Papua
\nMovement (OPM) activists preparing to fly their own flags.<\/p>\n
Hidayat, from his hotel, Hotel Biak, which was across the road
\nfrom the airfield, saw (the late) Gen. Sarwo Eddie arrive with an
\nhis entourage, preparing to fly to hinterland Enarotali. Thinking
\nthat the general would still remember him from an exclusive
\ninterview they had done some time previously, Hidayat approached
\nhim and asked if he could join his group and go to Enarotali with
\nthem.<\/p>\n
To his bewilderment, not only did the general have no
\nrecollection of him, but he subjected the young Hidayat to an
\nintimidating interrogation, before telling him he was not
\nwelcome.<\/p>\n
When he had recovered from the unsettling experience, Hidayat
\nwent to the Garuda office, where the previous day he had been
\ntold by an employee that there were plenty of seats available.<\/p>\n
When he wanted to buy a ticket to Jayapura, the same Garuda
\nemployee told him the flights that day was fully booked. Hidayat
\nasked him to check again. The employee made a show of
\ndisappearing into the back office to check, unwittingly leaving a
\npiece of paper on his desk. Hidayat, bursting with curiosity,
\nreached through the window, took the paper and turned it over. He
\nsaw his name written on it. He quietly replaced the paper.<\/p>\n
When the employee returned from the back office, saying there
\nwas nothing he could do, Hidayat persuaded him to tell the truth.<\/p>\n
The employee, who was also from Java, confessed that he had
\nreceived instructions from the district commandant not to sell
\nany tickets to the person whose name was written on that piece of
\npaper.<\/p>\n
The following day Hidayat received a visitor, a friendly
\npolice inspector, who revealed to him that the district commander
\nhad told him to keep Hidayat in Biak until there was a flight for
\nJakarta, and to make sure he was on that flight. \"What on earth
\nhave you done?\" he finally asked Hidayat.<\/p>\n
Since there was only one flight per week, Hidayat was stuck in
\nBiak. However, he was not idle. Most officials in Biak were his
\nfriends, and he had also been able to befriend some of the
\nindigenous people, so he was able to get a lot of information
\nfrom different sources, and was able to check and recheck that
\nway.<\/p>\n
He discovered that when the general's plane had arrived in
\nEnarotali, they had been unable to land because the runway had
\nbeen covered with bamboo spikes, and some indigenous police
\nofficers had shot at the plane. One of the general's aides had
\nbeen injured in the leg.<\/p>\n
The following day, on May 1, two B21 rockets flew over
\nEnarotali, \"apparently to scare them\", said Hidayat.<\/p>\n
He duly reported all these events and managed to sneak out the
\ntapes despite being followed by an intelligence officer wherever
\nhe went.<\/p>\n
Not long after his report went on air, the United Nations sent
\nan envoy to verify the report that the Indonesian government had
\nused B21 rockets to coerce the indigenous population.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, in Jakarta, Hidayat knew he was under
\nsurveillance for a long time after that. And he also knew that
\nhe had entered the general's bad books.<\/p>\n
Alan Morris, one of his seniors, laughingly confided to him
\nthat the general had warned him, \"Be careful with that Hidayat
\nfellow. He's on the CIA payroll.\"<\/p>\n
Several months after the events, a position became vacant in
\nMelbourne, for which Hidayat applied and got. A friend,
\nAustralian television journalist Mike Carlton, said to him then,
\n\"You know mate, you got that position because Radio Australia was
\nanxious for you to leave Jakarta.\"<\/p>\n
Hidayat does not believe that was the reason he was chosen,
\nbut he does not know for sure it was not.<\/p>",
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