Go to stage 3: Some quick Indonesian related links

Tuesday, 17 January 2012

Some quick Indonesian related links

There has been some trouble again in Aceh with a state electricity tower damaged by an unknown party. The attack has been ascribed by some observers to growing tensions related to the upcoming governor election in Aceh on 16 Feb 12. This attack comes on the tail of shootings in early January this year. The article also gives a good rundown of current tensions in Aceh and what the view of TNI is:

The Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) and the police are believed to prefer that he [Irwandi, the current governor] continue his governorship for a number of different reasons. For one, they still harbor suspicions toward the leaders of the Aceh Party, all former GAM leaders and commanders...

Second, the business interests of the security forces are being accommodated by Irwandi, who has frequently visited Jakarta to attract investors. He has reportedly discussed investment plans with business tycoon and the part-owner of the Artha Graha Group, Tomy Winata, who enjoys close ties with the TNI. [emphasis added]

(In a nice case of serendipity I also saw this article discussing Tomy Winata's plan to build the fifth tallest building in the world in Jakarta.)

I hope that the events in Aceh are not the start of renewed troubles in that province that has suffered a troubled history since 1945. When security disturbances occur in Indonesia they are often quickly and easily attributed to conspiracies, especially involving political interests and security forces. It is sometimes hard to tell the truth of these allegations. In December 2000 a series of bombs occurred outside a number of churches across Indonesia on Christmas Eve and were labelled by some as the results of political in fighting or the security services trying to protect their position. The world later learnt that this was the start of JI's bombing campaign. I am not saying that the recent events in Aceh are linked to JI or GAM or any other group. I am just saying that it is easy to blame the usual suspects and miss the new kid on the block.

In other TNI news the Defence Minister held a press coneference today to say that Indonesia is ready to modernise its hardware. He pointed out that 2011 had been a good year, procurement wise, for TNI:

Indonesia ended 2011 with large procurements, including six Sukhoi Su-30MKK from Russia worth US$470 million; three submarines from South Korea worth almost $1.1 billion in cooperation with state shipyard PT PAL; nine NC-295 medium transport from Spain worth $325 billion in cooperation with state-owned aircraft maker PT Dirgantara Indonesia; 16 KAI T-50 Golden Eagle advanced trainers, worth $400 million, from South Korea; eight Embraer EMB-314 Super Tucano counter-insurgency aircraft from Brazil; and Grob G 120TP primary trainer from Germany.

The article also included TNI's "shopping list" for 2012. This list may lead some people to claim that there is an arms race occurring in Southeast Asia, that assertion is a perennial favourite from journalists and observers yet it never feels that way on the ground. I can recommend pages 30-31 of Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific's (CSCAP) Regional Security Outlook 2012 for a balanced view on that debate.

Posted at 00:56 in Indonesia | Permalink

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