[Kabar-indonesia] JP Editorial: The Man Behind the Guns - investigation by independent team needed

[Joyo at aol.com]

The Jakarta Post 
Tuesday, July 4, 2006

Editorial 

The man behind the guns

When someone dies, we generally prefer to remember only the good times. This 
is especially true here. We are advised from an early age never to speak ill 
of the dead so they will rest in peace.

But recollections of Brig. Gen. Koesmayadi, who died on June 25 of heart 
problems, are likely to be different. Four days after Koesmayadi's death, Army 
Chief of Staff Gen. Djoko Santoso announced that 145 rifles, 42 pistols, 28,985 
bullets, nine grenades and 28 pairs of binoculars had been found at his 
residence in Ancol, North Jakarta.

It is a scandalous turn of events. There is now more talk about Koesmayadi's 
life than his death. Therefore, we should break with tradition to investigate 
the weapons scandal, however difficult this might be for his family.

It was not long before rumors were circulating about the one-star general's 
past activities. Even Gen. Djoko said that keeping that number of weapons in 
the home was "beyond acceptable practice."

Commenting on the speculation raised by the arms' seizure, several media 
reports linked Koesmayadi's activities with attempts to topple the government.

Based on the size of the arms stash, Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Air 
Chief Marshal Djoko Suyanto said that Koesmayadi, a former deputy to the 
assistant for logistics at the Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad), was not 
alone in storing weapons. This indicates the number of arms being kept in 
private homes could be much higher. National security is clearly at stake if this 
fear is proven accurate.

We praise the TNI chief for his quick and open response to the scandal. It 
would likely be an entirely different story if the TNI was under the leadership 
of an Army general, rather than an Air Force figure as is presently the case. 
There are also speculations the Air Force might be "happy" about the discovery 
of the arms stash, because in April it was rocked by the arrests of two arms 
traders in the United States for allegedly trying to purchase Sidewinders 
missiles and other weapons for the Air Force.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has instructed the TNI to conduct a 
thorough investigation. While we applaud the President's goodwill, it is an 
unsatisfactory gesture. It is an issue that is too important for the TNI to 
investigate unassisted by others. It is very rare -- if not unheard of -- that the truth 
is revealed in a major case in this country that is internally investigated.

We urge the government to set up an independent body to investigate the arms 
scandal, although there is also no guarantee that the government will take 
strong action upon the conclusion of the investigation.

For years the public asked why standard TNI weapons -- or those only the TNI 
can obtain and use -- were often found during the communal clashes in Ambon 
and Poso? Free Aceh Movement (GAM) field leaders also alleged it was easy to 
purchase TNI standard weapons.

In Jakarta it is often said the arms business is so lucrative and open that 
any type of weapon can be purchased, provided the buyer has the money and the 
connections. The U.S. ban on selling armaments to Indonesia, which has been in 
place since 1992, has spurred on the rapid growth of the illegal arms trade.

TNI's repeated denials of such allegations, however, have failed to convince 
the public because the quantity of TNI standard weapons found in conflict 
areas spoke for itself. The discovery of the arms stash at Koesmayadi's residence 
only gave grounds to the public fear that many officers are involved in 
large-scale arms smuggling.

Many people believe the case is just the tip of the iceberg Therefore the 
government has no choice but to set up an independent investigation with full 
access to military information. To be frank, we have little faith in the TNI's 
ability to conduct a fair investigation into the scandal because of the strong 
conflicts of interest within the TNI.

The President, who is directly elected by the people, should not hesitate to 
take harsh action against illegal arms traders. But this cannot be done 
without a thorough investigation.

It is for the sake of the nation, and in the interests of the TNI and the 
President himself, if an independent team is set up to probe the arms scandal. If 
the President only entrusts the TNI to resolve the problem, then we can 
expect little progress. 

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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