Jakarta – The House of Representatives plans to summon Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo to give clarification regarding his statement on the possible illegal shipment of firearms for the National Police and the State Intelligence Agency (BIN).
Member of House of Representatives Commission I overseeing defense and foreign affairs Supiandi Aries Putra said lawmakers planned to summon Gatot together with BIN chief Gen. Budi Gunawan.
"This has become a hot-button issue and that's why Commission I made the plan to summon TNI chief and the head of BIN," Supiandi said as quoted by tempo.co on Tuesday.
He said although Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto had given clarification regarding Gatot's allegation, the House needed information directly from the TNI chief.
In a statement made during a meeting with retired TNI personnel, Gatot said a plan had been in place to import 5,000 firearms without the approval of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.
Wiranto said on Sunday that there had been miscommunication regarding a plan to import firearms for educational purposes.