Wiranto in media hot seat over Aceh

JAKARTA (JP): At the opening of a seminar on state defense on Tuesday, Minister of Defense and Security/Indonesian Military Commander Gen. Wiranto faced a barrage of questions from the media on the current military policy and the incidents in Aceh.

Question: What is the relevance of the seminar on state defense?

Answer: The people, the one important component in the integrated state defense system, have become a serious problem since they are now attacking one another. The people have become a part of the problem, not part of the solution.

According to the 1945 Constitution and the 1982 Law on Defense and Security, the Military and National Police, the people and natural resources should constitute an integrated state defense system.

The fact that part of the people are launching a rebellion and want a separation from the Indonesian state is a form of betrayal to the integrated system.

That is why many figures from the military, the academia and others of the intellectual circle are attending the seminar. They are expected to come up with necessary approaches and a way out to improve public awareness in state defense.

Q: What is the government doing to improve awareness in state defense among people in troubled regions in Aceh, Ambon and Batam, Riau?

A: This seminar is expected to make recommendations to answer that question.

Q: Is the Free Aceh separatist group a threat to state defense?

A: You can answer that yourselves. There is a group of people in the province who are raising armed resistance against the legitimate government.

What would we attack one another for? We should be united in facing the threats coming from outside.

Q: What is your comment on accusations that the military should be held responsible for the July 23 bloodshed in Beutong Ateuh, West Aceh?

A: Who accused the military?

Q: The Acehnese...

A: Which of them? According to me, the incident was a betrayal of a system, namely the national state defense system, causing a trade of accusations and blame. Under such a situation, we will not be able to solve the problem.

The incident occurred when security personnel launched a raid in the form of a military operation. Armed contact occurred between security personnel with gunmen, claiming lives.

There was no mass killing or atrocity in the incident.

It is not fair if it is said that the military launched a massacre. I want fair exposure from the media. The media should report the reality.

I have repeatedly said that security personnel from the National Police which were deployed to the province were trained in accordance with standards to prevent them from committing an erroneous procedure in the operation. If security personnel made errors in the operation, they could be tried in a (military) tribunal. It is not fair to conclude that the operation was completely wrong.

We should trust the independent team (newly appointed by the president) to investigate the incident.

Q: Do you mean that Tengku Bantaqiyah (alleged separate leader in Beutong Ateuh) and his men were armed?

A: I will invite you for a field tour of the incident. (The military has said it found several weapons on the site as evidence of armed resistance). (rms)