Megawati returns home to mounting security problems

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.