TNI to maintain Kopassus presence in troubled areas

TNI to maintain Kopassus presence in troubled areas

The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

The Indonesian Military (TNI) says it will keep its Special
Force (Kopassus) troops in conflict areas, despite increasing
concerns Kopassus is participating in the conflicts.

TNI spokesman Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said local
military authorities in the troubled regions were responsible for
their troops' behavior, including the soldiers' alleged
involvement in several clashes.

Commenting on the recent conflict between two Kopassus members
and dozens of National Police personnel in the Maluku capital of
Ambon, Sjafrie said the Kopassus soldiers were performing their
duties there and that the clash occurred due to technical
matters.

"In such a state of civilian emergency, the military
intelligence has the authority to question or to arrest or to
collect data from civilians. We are not saying whether it is the
police or the military who have the authority because Ambon is
actually not in a normal situation," Sjafrie told a media
conference at the TNI headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta.

The presence of security personnel, including Kopassus, in
several troubled areas has long been questioned since they have
been accused of fueling the conflicts, instead of establishing
security and peace there.

Since 1999, TNI headquarters has deployed more than 9,800
military personnel to the province of Maluku, which has been
rocked by a sectarian conflict between Muslims and Christians.
The soldiers' presence has failed to restore security and order
in the region.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono once asked the TNI chief and the
National Police chief to evaluate the performance of the local
security authorities in Ambon.

Sjafrie, however, said that the TNI headquarters had decided
to maintain Brig. Gen. Moestopo as Maluku's Pattimura Military
Commander, on the grounds that "he (Moestopo) is still capable in
carrying out his duties there."

In a related development, Vice President Hamzah Haz said on
Friday that the detention of proindependence Maluku leader
Alexander Hermanus Manuputty in Jakarta, which followed the
arrest of the commander of Muslim militant group Laskar Jihad,
Ja'far Umar Thalib, displayed "proportional action" taken by
security forces.

Manuputty, leader of the proindependence Maluku Sovereignty
Front (FKM), had been detained by Maluku police for a month on
subversion charges which carry a maximum punishment of life in
prison according to Article 106 of the Criminal Code.

Hamzah added that Manuputty was brought to Jakarta due to his
direct involvement in separatist action.

He said that since the government had shown its intention to
dissolve the FKM and the RMS, it hoped that Laskar Jihad would
start surrendering their weapons to Maluku authorities.

"Later, when the situation has become more conducive, we hope
they (Laskar Jihad) will start to leave Ambon," Hamzah told
reporters after Friday prayers at Al-Azhar Mosque in East
Jakarta.

Ja'far said on Friday that his forces would only be pulled out
of Maluku once he believed that the security of his Muslim
brothers in Maluku was guaranteed by the government.

Maluku Police Chief Brig. Gen. Soenarko said that to date, the
police had detained 58 people from both Muslim and Christian
communities across Ambon, including for weapons possession.