[Nasional-e] ng things up can be good business

[Ambon]

 Stirring things up can be good business

Brigham Golden IHT Wednesday, October 2, 2002

The military in Indonesia

JAKARTA A hail of gunfire burst from the mist-shrouded jungle in Indonesia's
remote Papua Province, strafing a convoy of cars belonging to the American
mining corporation Freeport McMoRan. The Aug. 31 ambush on the mountain road
leading to one of the world's largest gold and copper mines killed three
employees and injured 11. It was a symptom of the troubled state of affairs
in Indonesia.
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The Bush administration wants to work with the Indonesian military to
suppress Islamic extremism. It recently extended up to $50 million in aid to
the military and police, circumventing restrictions imposed more than a
decade ago because of human rights violations in East Timor and elsewhere.
The U.S. rationale is simple - and simplistic: In this sprawling,
predominantly Muslim country, the armed forces and the police are the only
institutions that can be counted on to block the spread of Islamic
radicalism.
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But do U.S. officials understand with whom they are dealing? According to
the International Crisis Group, the fractious Indonesian military generates
more than 70 percent of its income from "off-budget" operations that include
protection and extortion rackets, illegal mining, illegal logging,
prostitution and trafficking in narcotics and endangered species. The troop
deployments that spawn such "business" opportunities are determined by
regional conflict. As a result, the security authorities have a vested
interest in perpetuating instability. This is the economy of conflict, and
it lies at the heart of Indonesia's troubles. Rich in natural resources, the
province of Papua, known formerly as Irian Jaya, is a major theater for the
military's economy of conflict. It is also an example of Washington's flawed
approach to countering terrorism. In towns like Manokwari in Papua, military
units are actively supporting the spread of Laskar Jihad, a radical
Islamicist militia with suspected ties to Al Qaeda. The aim is to instigate
sectarian clashes between Papuans, many of whom are Christians or animists,
and migrant Malay Muslims, so that the military can entrench itself and
expand moneymaking operations in the area.
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This would be a reprise of events in the province of Maluku last year that
left more than 6,000 civilians dead. There are other ominous signs of
military provocation in Papua. Special Forces soldiers have been charged
with assassinating Theys Eluay, leader of the peaceful branch of the Papuan
independence movement. His murder derailed a reconciliation process, making
it easier for the military to argue that its presence in Papua should be
increased. The recently appointed regional commander of the armed forces in
Papua, General Mahidin Simbolon, was previously a commander in East Timor,
where the military's role in fomenting bloody conflict is well documented.
Rather than providing a solution to terrorism, the military is helping to
spread terror within Indonesia's borders. The armed forces are contracted by
Freeport to provide security around the mine site. After the attack on the
company employees, the military was quick to accuse local Papuan
"separatists" of responsibility and reinforce deployments in the region.
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But given that bullet casings found at the scene match standard Indonesian
military issue M-16s, and given that the attack was committed scarcely three
kilometers from an army base, the ambush may well have been covertly
engineered by the authorities to ensure that their lucrative security
contract with Freeport is renewed. After Secretary of State Colin Powell met
top Indonesian military officials in Jakarta in early August, he said
Washington would be "watching carefully and expecting action to be taken
with respect to past abuses that might have occurred." A few days after that
warning, a military tribunal acquitted officers involved in East Timor
atrocities.
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The United States should be extremely cautious how it invests in Indonesia's
military. Without clear civilian controls, legal accountability and an end
to off-budget business by the military, the Bush administration may find
itself financing conflict and the spread of radicalism.
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The writer, an anthropologist at Columbia University in New York and a
member of the Council on Foreign Relations Task Force on Papua, contributed
this comment to the International Herald Tribune