ABRI denies military build up in East Timor

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto has denied reports that Indonesia increased its military presence in East Timor, one month after it began to withdraw troops from the country's youngest province.

"It is not true, it's nonsense, (the reports) that the number of ABRI personnel in East Timor has reached 17,000. That is a lie, that is not supported by facts," Wiranto said after meeting with President B.J. Habibie at the Merdeka Palace on Friday.

He charged the reports stemmed from rumors spread to disrupt Jakarta's efforts to grant greater autonomy to East Timor. He did not say who was responsible for generating the rumors.

"The reports were misleading and were contrived by certain parties to disturb efforts to reach a comprehensive and peaceful settlement of the East Timor problem," he said.

AFP reported on Friday that copies of apparently confidential Indonesian military documents circulating among foreign journalists, and given credence by Western embassies, showed there were 17,834 troops in East Timor at the end of July.

The number had actually increased, though only slightly, by the end of August, when 17,941 soldiers were stationed in the province, despite the much-publicized withdrawal of 1,100 combat troops on July 28 and August 8.

The documents also showed that the number of soldiers in East Timor was 15,912 in November of last year.

Chief of the East Timor Military Command, Col. Tono Suratman, said only 10,500 troops were currently deployed in East Timor. In his statement he referred to yet another contradictory report suggesting that 21,000 military personnel were stationed in the province.

"It is not true that ABRI personnel (in East Timor) reach 21,000. The truth is that they number only 10,500," Tono told The Jakarta Post in the provincial capital of Dili on Friday.

"We should not question the number of troops deployed in East Timor, but we should question the function and reason why troops are deployed there. Don't only look at things from their bad side, but also from the bright side because not all ABRI personnel here are bad," Tono added.

ABRI chief spokesman Maj. Gen. Saymsul Ma'arif told The Jakarta Post that besides combat troops, ABRI has also deployed territorial soldiers trained in agricultural methods to help improve welfare in East Timor through community development activities.

"As you know, we have military personnel other than combat troops who there for other purposes, such as to improve the welfare of local people," he said.

He said the military had also changed the function of certain combat troops into non-combative purposes.

"So I think, those who made the reports might have miscounted our troops there," he said.

Lt. Col. Made Runa, spokesman for the Bali-based Udayana Military Command which oversees East Timor, also rejected the reports, saying that only 3,000 combat troops were stationed in East Timor.

"Do not believe news from other sources," Lt. Col. Made was quoted by Reuters as saying.

Documents released by a pro-East Timor group were quoted on Friday by Reuters as claiming there were 21,620 soldiers and civilian militia in East Timor in August, a rise of 2,000 from November, 1997.

Meanwhile, Wiranto insisted that ABRI's presence in East Timor was aimed at creating a feeling of safety and at improving livelihoods in the province.

"ABRI is in East Timor to maintain security and to create a feeling of safety as well as to help enhance the prosperity of the population by providing guidance," Wiranto said.

The troops are territorial troops who have been given training in agriculture and craftsmanship, he added.

Australian newspapers ran stories on the documents on Friday, saying that a total of 100 pages of military personnel files had been leaked to the foreign media and Western diplomats.

The documents confirm the continued presence of units from the Army's special force (Kopassus) in addition to the 8,000 combat troops present in August -- a figure unchanged from a month earlier despite claims that cuts had been made.

AFP reported that the Australian government, reacting to the reports, warned on Friday that the process of reconciliation in East Timor could be under threat.

Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer was quoted as saying in Sydney that the Australian government would be disappointed if the reports were true, but said it was a matter for the Indonesian government to address. (33/bnt/byg/rms)