U.S. arms embargo blamed for Sampit strife
U.S. arms embargo blamed for Sampit strife
JAKARTA (JP): In yet another verbal attack on the United States, Minister of Defense Mahfud M.D. blamed on Monday the arms embargo imposed by the country on Indonesia for hampering the military's ability to quell the recent communal violence in Central Kalimantan, which left more than 400 people killed.
Mahfud was quoted by Antara on Monday that only two of the 26 Hercules transport planes allocated to fly in troops were operational because of the embargo, which dates back to 1999.
"The main reason for TNI's (the Indonesian Military's) delay in handling the unrest in Sampit was the location, which was difficult to reach by land and there was insufficient transportation," Mahfud said, referring to the town where much of the violence had erupted.
"The United States did not allow the 24 planes which were damaged to be fixed so that the dropping of TNI troops into Sampit was late," he told a group of Muslim clerics in Sumenep, Madura on Sunday.
Washington cut military ties with Indonesia in 1999 after pro- integration militias unleashed the campaign of terror and destruction in East Timor that followed the resounding vote for independence by people in the former Portuguese colony.
But the ban was quietly relaxed late last year to allow the Air Force and Navy -- which are not blamed for human rights abuses -- to purchase spare parts for non-aggressive equipment such as transport aircraft and cargo ships.
The outspoken Mahfud has frequently criticized the U.S. embargo for hampering the effectiveness of the military.
"Only two units were operational, meaning that those two planes were forced to take turns carrying TNI personnel and dropping food and medical supplies," Mahfud said.
U.S. embassy officials in Jakarta were not available to comment on Monday, as it was a public holiday in observance of the Islamic New Year. The U.S. has previously accused Mahfud of undermining years of warm relations.
Witnesses in Sampit have previously said troops and police stationed there did little to halt attacks by indigenous Dayaks against Madurese settlers.
Fresh fighting between Dayaks and Madurese flared last week in Kapuas, a different part of Central Kalimantan, leaving up to 17 people dead. Officials say that the region is now calm.
When the then U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen visited Jakarta last September, Mahfud said the U.S. embargo was partly to blame for the government's problems in disarming pro- integration militias in East Nusa Tenggara.
Washington had repeatedly indicated that the embargo would only be lifted if there were a sufficient, independent and fair judicial process against those who were allegedly involved in human rights abuses in the former Indonesian province.
Some Army and police generals have been named by the Attorney General's Office as suspects in the violence, but it remains uncertain whether they are going to be taken to court. (byg)