Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Last week's arrest of four Indonesians in the US reveals the chaos in arms procurement, involving both partners of the Indonesian Military (TNI) and its current and retired officers, analysts and politicians said Monday.
They called on the government to follow official procedures and uphold the principle of accountability in arms procurement.
Four Indonesians and their two foreign counterparts have been charged with conspiring to illegally ship arms worth US$900,000 to Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger guerrillas as well as customers in Indonesia.
Along with their associates from Singapore and Sri Lanka, the four Indonesians identified as Erick Wotulo, 60, Subandi, 69, Reinhard Rusli, 34, and Helmi Soedirdja, 33, were caught allegedly doing a transaction with American undercover agents. Erick has been identified as a retired admiral in the Indonesian Navy, but the TNI has denied any link to him.
The suspects have been charged with conspiring to ship technically advanced night vision goggles to Indonesia without the necessary approval from the Defense Ministry. They are also accused of money laundering.
Andi Widjayanto, a military analyst from the University of Indonesia, said Indonesia had laws governing arms procurement, but the process remained chaotic, often involving unauthorized military officers and former officers.
Earlier this year, several Indonesians were arrested in the US for attempting to buy arms through a third party.
"Two 2006 ministerial decrees mean the TNI Headquarters, Army, Air Force and Navy are no longer allowed to buy their own arms and other military equipment," he told The Jakarta Post.
The 2004 law on military stipulates that arms procurement is the authority of the Defense Ministry, for reasons of accountability and efficiency.
Effendi Choirie, a member of the Defense Commission at the House of Representatives, called on US authorities to thoroughly investigate why the four Indonesians were buying the night vision goggles and other military equipment. Andi and Effendi said arms procurement is a lucrative business.
They alleged the four Indonesians were in fact the military's partners, and that they knew well what TNI needed for a particular fiscal year.
"Apparently, they did not know that following the lifting of the military embargo by the US Congress late in 2005, arms should be purchased on government to government basis," said Andi.
Indria Samego, a military analyst at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, said the latest incident showed that the military was resisting reform.
"The President and Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono should be tough on arms purchasing and bring military officers to court for getting involved in the illegal arms trade," he said.
Djoko Susilo, a member of the House's defense commission, said the House should tighten its supervision of arms purchases by the government. "We have to make sure that every purchase follows the legal procedure."