'Half of U.S.-made aircraft grounded due to embargo'

'Half of U.S.-made aircraft grounded due to embargo'

Antara, Yogyakarta

Indonesian Air Force Chief of Staff Marshall Hanafie Asnan said on Monday that the American ban on the sale of lethal weapons and military hardware to Indonesia had forced the Air Force to ground half of its 233 U.S.-made fighter planes.

Hanafie said that the continuing arms embargo was regrettable because it had hampered Indonesia's airport development.

"Very recently, they (U.S. officials) had made noises about lifting the embargo but so far they have not honored their promise. At present Indonesia can only get spare parts for civilian aircraft while most of our jet fighters are made in U.S."

Hanafie made the statement after officially closing an Air Force educational program in Yogyakarta.

Washington slapped an embargo on arms sales to Indonesia in 1999 on charges that the military was involved in systematic human rights abuses in East Timor.

Hanafie said that the embargo had forced the Indonesian Air Force to ground more and more of its American-made jet fighters due to the lack of spare parts.

"Of the total 233 U.S.-made military aircraft, only between 40 percent and 50 percent can be flown," Hanafie said.

He added that the slowdown in Indonesia's Air Force development had also been aggravated by the economic crisis.

"Air Force development needs substantial funds while at this time of crisis the bulk of the budget goes to people's welfare," he said.

Meanwhile, Air Force spokesman First Air Commodore Imam Wahyudi ruled out sabotage in last month's Hawk fighter crash in Riau.

"It happened while we were on a joint exercise with the Singapore Air Force. The plane crashed because of a communication error. It was a good thing the pilot survived the crash."