US$4,500/hour free for using Hercules lift 'normal'
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Indonesian Military (TNI) Spokesman Rear Marshall Graito Usodo admitted on Monday that the Air Force charged US$4,500 (approximately Rp 45 million) an hour for air transport, but denied such "a fee" had delayed police deployment to conflict- torn places.
"Should other forces use our transportation such as an airplane, of course they must pay some fee per hour to us," Graito told the press here on Monday.
He said the Air Force's Hercules transport aircraft costs US$4,500 per hour, excluding fuel and engine maintenance costs.
"It is the cheapest among our planes," Graito said.
He said the Navy also imposed certain fees for the use of its ships, but declined to reveal how much the Navy was charging. A Navy spokesman was not available for comment.
Such fees, according to Graito, are paid through the ministry of defense.
"There is no direct transaction between the TNI (Indonesian Military) and the police since both the TNI and the police receive operational costs from the government," Graito said.
Graito added that if police requested troop deployments in troubled places such as Maluku, North Maluku and Central Sulawesi provinces, the police also had to shoulder logistics costs for each soldier.
"Of course the cost (of logistics) is expensive, but police can manage it along with local administrations," he said.
He stressed that the defense ministry has earmarked a security budget for the police and a national defense budget for TNI.
"If TNI personnel have to be involved in security affairs, the police have to pay the required costs, and that is normal since they receive a budget allocation for security," Graito said.
"If the TNI had to pay all the costs (of troop deployments from its budget), then what will happen to the security budget they (the police) receive from the government," he said.
Graito's admission came amid police allegations that the military was demanding a fee before transporting police personnel to conflict-ridden places and that such a fee had delayed police deployment to those areas.
The police were particularly furious with the Air Force's "failure" to provide three Hercules to the police to take them to Poso, Central Sulawesi, where religious conflicts have claimed dozens of lives in the past two weeks.
Graito denied the allegations, saying that the Air Force had prepared two planes on Dec. 1 to carry about two companies of police personnel, and another one the following day.
"So, there was no delay in the police deployment," said Graito, adding that the Air Force also provided three planes on Dec. 6.
Following the separation of the police from the TNI, as stipulated in People's Consultative Assembly Decree No. VII/2000, the TNI's primary task is maintaining national sovereignty and unity, while the police must focus on domestic security.
TNI Chief Admiral Widodo A.S. revealed in a hearing with House Commission I in charge of political, security, and foreign affairs last week that the TNI was seeking funds worth Rp 224.9 billion to finance security operations in the country's several restive provinces.
"After it was discussed with the ministry of finance and the House, the government agreed to disburse some Rp 154.97 billion through the ministry of defense, and we immediately allocated the funds to finance our security operations, such as in Papua and Maluku," Widodo said.
Widodo, however, said the TNI needed some additional funds amounting to Rp 838.35 billion to finance supporting elements for its security operation, such as procurement of ammunition, spare parts for military vehicles including ships and planes, communication tools which include radar and satellite equipment and also a series of training programs for TNI soldiers.
"The government will consider disbursing some Rp 314.12 billion, and continues to wait for an approval from the House," Widodo said without explaining how the TNI would cover the remaining funds of Rp 524.23.