Megawati returns home to mounting security problems
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
President Megawati Soekarnoputri arrived home on Sunday with a bundle of armament purchases from Eastern European countries to worsening domestic security.
Ending her 10-day visit to Romania, Russia and Poland, Megawati was met with national security threats resulting from the failed peace talks on Aceh and two bomb blasts that rocked the capital within three days.
A few hours before she landed at Halim Perdanakusumah Airport, a bomb blast shook Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, injuring 11 people. On Thursday, another bomb exploded near the UN office in Central Jakarta.
Megawati will preside over a Cabinet meeting on Aceh that will decide the future of the peace agreement with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) after she ordered Indonesian delegates to forfeit negotiations with the rebels, which was scheduled to take place in Geneva, Switzerland.
"Our country is facing two permanent threats, namely separatism in Aceh, Papua and Maluku, and terrorism," Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said after greeting the President.
Looking at Megawati's list of purchases, which includes four new Sukhoi jet fighters and two Mi-35 assault helicopters worth US$197 million, plus a US$135 million credit from the Polish military industry, Megawati appears to be focusing on strengthening the Indonesian Military's (TNI) ability to defuse security threats.
The new aircraft will be delivered in September, right in time for a possible war in Aceh, which the military commander there has predicted will last between six and seven months.
The government had to pay 12.5 percent of the total value of the aircraft in cash, while the rest was settled through the countertrade of 11 products.
The arms purchases has sparked complaints from House of Representatives legislators, who said it would put a considerable burden on the current state budget as it was not part of the draft budget.
The government insisted on the arms purchase due to a military embargo imposed by its traditional supplier, the United States, in 1999.
Government sources told The Jakarta Post earlier that the government decided to reach a deal with Russia after calculating the windfall profit from oil and gas products due to skyrocketing prices during the three weeks of war in Iraq.
People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais was among the supporters of the arms purchase, saying on Sunday that buying the new military hardware from Eastern Europe was "an excellent choice".
"We can worry about the state budget later on, but it can be further discussed," Amien told Antara in his hometown of Yogyakarta.
Also welcoming Megawati were Vice President Hamzah Haz, National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar and other high-ranking officials.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda, who accompanied Megawati on her 10-day tour, said it was more than an arms shopping trip as the government also established several long- term economic cooperation deals with those countries.
"Please note that Romania and Poland will join the European Union in the near future and may open a new door for our exports to Europe," Hassan told a media conference upon arrival at Halim Perdanakusumah Airport.
He underlined that the trip was to reaffirm the good ties with these Eastern European countries.