TNI flexes its muscles for Megawati's visit to East Timor
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja The Jakarta Post Jakarta
People around Suralaya beach, West Java woke up to the thundering roar of helicopters and troops calling out the name of East Timor president-elect Xanana Gusmao in late April.
A group of soldiers were seen jumping out of a chopper using parachutes and moving quickly forward with their weapons ready to fire as soon as they touched the ground.
"Are we going to invade East Timor again?" a person in the crowd asked a presidential security guard in astonishment, who was at the site.
"Well, no," the soldier answered. "The President will visit East Timor and we are undergoing training to provide security for her."
The soldier told The Jakarta Post about the military operation after returning from the week-long, day and night training exercise, which was participated in by around 2,000 troops ahead of President Megawati Soekarnoputri's visit to East Timor on Sunday.
Not all the personnel will escort the President, but the joint security task force has raised many eyebrows considering the fact that the full-scale military operation is aimed at protecting Megawati who will be in the East Timor capital for barely four hours to attend the declaration of independence of the nation.
Foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda said on Saturday most of the troops would stay on alert along the areas bordering Indonesia and East Timor.
A fleet of six warships will join the mission.
The number of soldiers is equivalent to those dropped at the former Portuguese colony under a military operation named Seroja in 1975 which paved the way for the Indonesian military's presence there.
Protests were heard on Saturday, with the East Timor Minister of Foreign Affairs Ramos Horta demanding the withdrawal of Indonesian warships.
Xanana expressed his disappointment, saying: "Dili will not even let a fly touch Megawati."
Indonesian Military (TNI) spokesman Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, who once served in East Timor, said TNI would not take any risks as the celebration in Dili would take place at night and in the open air.
Aside from Sjafrie's explanation, TNI has not disclosed any threats that may have prompted the mission, the largest since East Timor voted for independence three years ago.
Analysts say that the mission is simply a show of force to bolster the military's ego to compensate for the loss of the former province and the human rights trial against TNI officers accused of genocide and violence that followed the 1999 independence vote.
"The number of soldiers is 1,500 higher than normal and the warships are four too many. The action is very disappointing from a nation that should have shown more humility," former minister of defense Juwono Sudarsono said.
He said that it was an understandable show of defiance from the TNI toward the international community, which was uncalled- for.
"It is urgent to safeguard the President, but the scale is a bit exaggerated," Juwono remarked.
Funding is also another question as no military officer is willing to disclose the source of funding for the mission.
A presidential security guard told the Post on Saturday that the fund was taken from the operational budget of each unit in TNI, therefore there was no special allocation for it.
While Sjafrie said that the fund was taken from the regular presidential security operation.
The mission has sparked jealousy among the soldiers involved.
"Some of us are being sent only to Kupang, some stay on the warships and the rest go all the way to Dili. Those who go to Dili receive an allowance in dollars, which is unfair as we all underwent a similar training," one of the troops complained.
Soldiers posted in Dili will receive US$150 as a daily allowance, while the rest receive only Rp 100,000 per day.