Counterfeit case triggers demand to monitor RI spies

Eva C. Komandjaja The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The need for the government to set up a special body to control and monitor the performance of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) has become urgent, a police/intelligence ethics activist has said.

The call comes amid the arrests late last week of seven BIN agents on suspicions of producing counterfeit banknotes. Among the suspects is Brig. Gen. Zyaeri, a retired senior police officer and head of the BIN special division for counterfeit eradication.

Rashid Lubis, chairman of non-governmental organization Police Watch, told The Jakarta Post that intelligence agencies, including police intelligence, were untouchable because of the nature of their work and authority.

"(BIN agents) do everything in secret, so nobody can monitor exactly how they're doing their jobs," Rashid said over the weekend.

BIN, the highest intelligence agency in the country, is bound to secrecy for the sake of their agents and national security, and it is difficult to keep watch over its agents as to whether they are investigating or committing a crime.

The intelligence field seems vulnerable to abuse, as was evident in the latest case. The police busted a counterfeit ring and found that it involved one of BIN's top officers.

"According to the draft Intelligence Law, members of the House of Representatives are assigned to monitor and control the movement of BIN officers. However, it seems that our friends at the House has not performed this function at all," Rashid said.

He urged the government to set up an intelligence commission, comprised of individuals knowledgeable about intelligence, to control and monitor the country's intelligence bodies.

"Just like the police, which is to have a police commission comprising police experts, we should do the same with intelligence agencies such as BIN," Rashid said.

Separately, National Police fraud squad chief Brig. Gen. Andi Chaeruddin told The Post on Saturday that they had no other suspects in the counterfeit case but the seven BIN agents.

"We have enough evidence to charge the seven suspects," Andi said.

Andi still refused to reveal when the counterfeit operation was set up and the exact location of the operation, claiming that these aspects were still under investigation.

It is rumored that the operation started four years ago in West Java.