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Air Force shoots down British request over use of Hawks

Jakarta Post - June 6, 2003

Jakarta – British attempts to convince the Indonesian Air Force to abandon its use of the HS-Hawk warplane in the war in Aceh have been shot down in flames.

Air Force spokesman Eddy Hardjoko said Thursday that the British-made Hawks would remain part of its arsenal, saying the warplanes had only been used to provide air cover for soldiers, not combat.

"The use of the warplanes is in accordance with the military chief's orders," Eddy was quoted by Antara as saying. However, he said the Indonesian Military (TNI) reserved the right to use the Hawks in a combat role should the war worsen.

Four Hawks were used on the first day of the military operation on May 19 to provide cover for soldiers landing in Aceh. The British government sent Foreign Office Minister Mike O'Brien to Jakarta to ask the Indonesian government not to use Hawks during the operation.

O'Brien said Indonesia had agreed before it purchased 24 Hawks in 1996 that the warplanes would not be used in activities that could lead to human rights violations. Jakarta, nevertheless, insisted that the deal only applied to East Timor, which won independence from Indonesia in 1999, not Aceh.

O'Brien told President Megawati Soekarnoputri during a meeting on Wednesday that breaching the agreement on the use of the Hawks would lead to a full review of military ties. "I hope that we will not have to take a view that our relationships with the armed forces would be affected if this agreement is broken," he said after meeting with President Megawati.

"We do have agreements to supply parts and also to have further relationships with the armed forces, which might be damaged if we cannot reconcile on this issue," O'Brien added.

Eddy said the Hawks would not be used to harm civilians as the ongoing military operation in Aceh was to crush armed Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels.

Former defense minister Juwono Sudarsono said the British reaction to the use of Hawks in Aceh was an overreaction as the warplanes were used only for a "show of force and air protection". Juwono said Indonesia should start finding other sources of military supplies if the British were not happy.