Associated Press, Tuesday, December 30, 2003
U.S. Trains Indonesian Anti-Terror Squad
By MICHAEL CASEY, Associated Press Writer
MEGA MENDUNG, Indonesia - Gunfire crackles and smoke wafts across a valley as
an elite police unit storms a house filled with terrorists, rescuing the hostages and
shooting dead the abductors.
This time, the victims were depicted by cardboard cutouts and the killers by posters
of men with guns. But eventually the officers taking part may be hunting down Islamic
militants in a groundbreaking partnership with the United States.
They belong to "Task Force 88 Anti-Terror," a new, 300-man Indonesian police unit
being trained and equipped entirely by Washington. Similar programs are set to begin
in Pakistan, Columbia, and possibly in the Philippines.
"This is win-win scenario for Indonesia and the United States," said Gary Laing, a
U.S. State Department officer supervising training at the center in hills south of
Jakarta. "This recognizes that the United States wants to be engaged in Indonesia
and their fight against terrorism."
The $24 million initiative highlights the growing importance of world's largest Muslim
nation in America's war on terror. But it also underlines the difficulties of fighting terror
in a country where the U.S. government is legally banned from dealing with the army
because of a history of human rights abuses.
Singling out the police for special training could intensify inter-service rivalries between
the police and the Indonesian army. Both are seen as corrupt, and units often clash
over the spoils of criminal activity ranging from drug trafficking to illegal logging.
Task Force 88 will likely add to those tensions since the army already has a similar
anti-terrorist unit, some critics say. Making matters worse, the central government
has never defined which agency should handle terrorist emergencies.
"If there was an actual incident, it would be an incredible turf war," said Ken Conboy,
author of "Intel," a history of Indonesia's intelligence services.
"Will the army allow someone else to muscle in when they have had this unit for a
long time?" Conboy said.
The 300,000-strong army was the main pillar of the dictatorship of former president
Suharto. It was in charge of security across the archipelago, with the police acting
under its command. Indonesian and foreign governments showered the army with
billions of dollars in equipment and training. The demoralized police officers were left
without basics like handguns.
As part of the country's transition to democracy after Suharto's downfall in 1998, the
police became an independent agency. Western governments, meanwhile, banned all
contacts with the army because of rights violations in East Timor in 1999.
The police received high marks for their investigation into last year's Bali bombings
which killed 202 people, and the Aug. 5 bombing of a Jakarta hotel that killed 12. Both
were blamed on the al-Qaida linked Jemaah Islamiyah network. Police arrested most
of those involved in the blasts, and 29 have been convicted.
Foreign governments responded by providing the police with extensive assistance.
Australia, which lost 88 citizens in the Bali attack, is providing intelligence training.
Japan, Germany and Britain are also offering help in management, crowd control and
other police techniques.
The new anti-terror unit is part of a wider, $50 million U.S. program to help the police.
American instructors at Mega Mendung teach classes in hostage rescue, crime
scene investigation and bomb disposal.
"In a democratic world, the police are the security service tasked with internal stability
and fighting terrorism," said Jake Wohlman, the U.S. embassy's security chief.
But some Indonesians complain the new focus on the police could hurt efforts to
reform the army and bring it under civilian control.
"Do not put Indonesia in the position where it must take sides between its military and
police," said Dewi Fortuna Anwar, a prominent political analyst.
Copyright © 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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