Indonesia arrests U.S. 'infiltrator' in Irian Jaya
Indonesia arrests U.S. 'infiltrator' in Irian Jaya
YOGYAKARTA (JP): Minister of Defense Mohammad Mahfud M.D.
claimed on Sunday that security officers had recently apprehended
in Irian Jaya an "infiltrator" of United States citizenship whom
he believes could have been involved in espionage in Indonesia's
easternmost province.
"The U.S. citizen, Aaron Ward Maness, was arrested on Oct. 21,
but he was taken by the U.S. ambassador to Jakarta (Robert
Gellbard) when he was about to be deported at Soekarno-Hatta
International Airport," Mahfud remarked without elaborating on
how the U.S. ambassador was able to "take" someone who was about
to be deported by immigration officials.
It is unclear whether the U.S. citizen was apprehended in
Jakarta or Irian Jaya.
Mahfud would not elaborate further on the deportation debacle,
saying the issue does not involve the Ministry of Defense.
"That's the immigration and police's business," he asserted.
"But based on the information that I obtained, the man
(Maness) was not deported as he was immediately taken by
Ambassador Gelbard".
According to officials, Gelbard, when he picked up the alleged
"infiltrator", denied that Maness was a spy, saying the man was a
U.S. air force pensioner.
However, Mahfud admitted that authorities have to yet find
concrete legal evidence against Maness' alleged spying
activities.
Nevertheless Maness deserved to be suspected for trying to
push for Irian Jaya's independence, Mahfud argued, saying such an
assumption could be judged from his belongings.
"I have data showing that Maness met with leaders of the Papua
taskforce just a day before the bloody riots in Wamena," Mahfud
said in a discussion with reporters here.
The riots erupted when proindependence supporters ran amok
after clashing with police for forcibly lowering the Morning Star
separatist flags.
An overwhelming majority of those who died were migrant
settlers.
Mahfud claimed that among Maness's activities were taking
pictures of riot victims from the indigenous population only and
circulating the pictures abroad with a note saying the dead were
victims of brutality of the Indonesian Military (TNI).
"Maness did not take pictures of the other victims. He was on
a tourist visa but he was working as a journalist," Mahfud
remarked.
Mahfud believes that Maness' ultimate objective was to prompt
a United Nations' intervention.
"If he had succeeded, it would have been as what happened in
East Timor," he added.
The arrest of Maness, Mahfud said, was also a glaring example
of the weaknesses of Indonesia's own intelligence bodies.
"I got the information from the police intelligence, not from
formal (military) intelligence bodies," he remarked.
Mahfud earlier this week indicated that a new intelligence
body would likely be set up under his ministry amid public
concerns over the weakness of the existing intelligence bodies.
He said the planned intelligence body would directly give
daily information to the President.
Pact
Mahfud also remarked that Indonesia needs to consider the
establishment of a defense pact to balance the U.S. presence in
the region and avoid more foreign pressure, including weapons
embargoes.
"If Indonesia, India, China and Japan unite to set up a joint
defense pact, the U.S. would be limp. The U.S. can be arrogant
but I'm now considering cooperation with other countries," he
remarked.
Asked whether he has informed President Abdurrahman Wahid
about his plans, Mahfud replied: "The President is an easygoing
person. He just said go head."
However, he asked that the plan not be perceived as an effort
to fight against the U.S.
"As a sovereign country, Indonesia should find other
alternatives. We don't want to be continuously pressured by the
U.S," he remarked.
Mahfud's remarks on a possible pact however may catch a few
people by surprise as such a policy runs against core values of
the Indonesian foreign policy.
Indonesia is currently not bound by any military pact and had
always rejected the idea of entering into one in the past.
(23/jun)