LAKSAMANA.Net, September 3, 2004 10:30 PM
Army Chief Again Raises Foreign Spy Alert
Laksamana.Net - Army chief General Ryamizard Ryacudu has warned that foreign
intelligence activities in Indonesia have reached an "alarming level", putting the
country's unity and territorial integrity at risk.
"There have been so many foreign intelligence officers here. They have created an
unstable condition under all sorts of pretexts," he was quoted as saying Friday
(3/9/04) by state news agency Antara.
He made the comment when opening a national meeting of the Indonesian Mosque
Youth Communication Board (BKPMRI) in the North Sumatra capital of Medan.
Ryacudu urged the public to be on high alert for the activities of foreign intelligence
officers, claiming their main mission is to exploit "negative issues" to create
"horizontal conflicts" between different groups in certain parts of the country.
He said the foreign spies have been donating substantial sums of money to rebel
movements to exacerbate such internal conflicts.
The Army chief claimed that separatist uprisings in Aceh and Papua provinces bore
the hallmarks of outside interference, as did communal conflicts in Poso [Central
Sulawesi province] and the Maluku islands.
Most analysts say the separatist rebellions in Aceh and Papua are due to decades of
injustice, economic exploitation and human rights abuses perpetrated by the powerful
Indonesian military.
The military has also been accused of fueling communal and religious violence that
has claimed thousands of lives in Poso and the Maluku islands over the past five
years.
Ryacudu's warning of the "threat" posed by foreign intelligence agencies in Indonesia
is nothing new.
In November 2003, speaking at the military academy in Magelang, Central Java, he
warned that an increasing number of foreign intelligence operatives from Australia, the
US, England and Israel had infiltrated Indonesia in an effort to divide the country.
Other officials acknowledged that Western nations might have sent more spies –
although not to clandestinely wreak havoc in Indonesia, but to keep up to speed on
the terrorist threat posed by radical groups in the country.
In December 2003, Ryacudu claimed at least 60,000 foreign spies had entered
Indonesia as part of an aggressive "modern warfare" plan to weaken the Indonesian
Defense Forces (TNI) and incite internal conflict by encouraging dissent.
He made the comment to reporters in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, after seeing off
three Raider Battalions bound for Aceh.
Ryacudu refused to name the countries that he thought were behind the alleged plot
to destabilize in Indonesia. He also refused to reveal the source of his data, merely
saying the information came from an intelligence report.
He urged all elements of the country to be united to overcome the foreign threat,
which he described as a new form of pragmatic colonialism being carried out by large
countries.
In January 2004, Ryacudu again warned that foreign civilian and military operatives
had infiltrated Indonesia in an effort to create conflict in Papua and Aceh
Outspoken human rights campaigner Munir criticized Ryacudu's warnings about
foreign spies, saying the general's dramatic comments were an effort to incite social
tensions and could damage Indonesia's diplomatic relations.
He was quoted by detikcom as saying the Army's chief's statements could be seen
as an attempt to enable the military to resurrect its territorial commands, obtain a
higher budget and increase its political bargaining power.
Munir, former coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of
Violence (Kontras), questioned why Ryacudu did not simply have the 60,000 foreign
spies deported if he had really managed to identify so many.
The activist pointed out that it was entirely normal for foreign embassies to have
agents tasked to make reports on developments in Indonesia.
Former intelligence official Djuanda entered the debate in late December by saying
the number of foreign intelligence agents in Indonesia was far greater than Ryacudu's
estimate of 60,000.
He was quoted by tempointeraktif.com as saying the agents consisted of those who
were recruited directly by foreign intelligence agencies and those who were recruited
indirectly but supported the agenda of foreign countries.
Djuanda said the agents were recruited from foreign schools, non-government
organizations and the foreign media. Their activities ranged from defense and security,
industrial interests to the penetration of ideology and domination of culture – with the
main aim of influencing decision-making and thinking, he added.
He said there was no need to worry about their presence as long as they did not seek
to damage Indonesia.
Australian Aid
Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirajuda on Friday expressed concern that certain
Australian non-governmental organizations may be supporting separatist groups in
Indonesia, especially in Papua.
"The minister warned of indications that Australian NGOs have directly or indirectly
helped to fund to separatism efforts in Indonesia," Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman
Yuri Thamrin was quoted as saying by detikcom.
He said Indonesia has asked Australia to supervise the distribution of funds from the
government-sponsored Australian Agency for International Development (AusAid) to
ensure they do not go toward sensitive areas.
Thamrin was unable to mention any Australian NGOs suspected of funding separatist
movements in Indonesia. "However, reports we have received show a strong indication
of help being channeled toward separatism, especially in Papua," he said.
The Australian government officially supports Indonesia's territorial sovereignty over
Aceh and Papua, where rebel groups have been campaigning for independence for
decades.
Australia has also voiced support for Indonesia's ongoing military offensive against
separatist rebels in Aceh, despite widespread claims of human rights violations being
perpetrated by TNI.
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