More equal terms needed for cooperation with Namru-2: TNI chief

Antara ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 06/26/2008 12:29 PM  |  National

Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Djoko Santoso said the United States' medical research laboratory Namru-2 should be allowed to continue operating in Indonesia only if the terms of
agreement were made more equal to the two countries.

Speaking here Wednesday at a hearing with the House of Representatives' Commission I for defense and foreign affairs, Santoso said one of the inequities in the present agreement was
the fact that the United States was represented in Namru-2 by its navy whereas the Indonesian Navy was not involved at all.

"If the terms were equal for the two countries, the U.S. Navy should have the TNI or the Indonesian Navy as its counterpart in Namru-2," he said.

He said that all that the TNI knew about Namru-2 was that it was engaged in research. However, it was possible the research results, such as from biological samples in the form of viruses from Indonesia, were ultimately used for medical as well as military purposes.

Since 1996, the TNI headquarters had stopped receiving official reports on Namru-2 activities either from Namru-2 or the Indonesian ministry of health, he said.

Also making it difficult to watch over Namru-2's operations is the change in its status from detachment to command, Santoso said.

In addition, the diplomatic status given to the 23 U.S. nationals in Namru-2 enables them to bring in or take out goods to or from Indonesia without inspection and free from customs duties.

Under the old agreement, Namru-2 personnel were also free to travel in any part of the country, making it difficult for the Indonesian government to monitor their activities.

Santoso also said the BL-3 (Biological Safety Level-3) status enjoyed by Namru-2 had the potential of creating problems for Indonesia.

Under the international convention on biological weapons, if there is an accident at a research laboratory that causes a dangerous micro-organism to escape, the host country must permit
an international inspection team to check an area within a radius of 500 kilometers of the laboratory.

"This means that if the accident happened at the Namru-2 laboratory in Jakarta, everything in Jakarta, West Java and Central Java, including military installations and vital objects in the secret category, would have to be opened for inspection," he said.

Therefore, a new agreement on Namru-2 operations in Indonesia should include provisions for TNI participation, as well as clear definitions of Namru-2's objects of research and areas of operations, Santoso said.

U.S. military personnel intending to visit or operate in sensitive regions in Indonesia should also be required to ask for prior permission. The same should apply to the use of communication devices, he said, adding that Namru-2 must register such devices with Indonesian authorities and use frequencies determined by the government.

The movement of Namru-2 goods into and out of the country must be subject to existing procedures in Indonesia, he said, and the U.S. government would have to bear responsibility for any accident occurring at the Namru-2 laboratory.

Furthermore, Indonesian government agencies such as the Health Ministry's development and research body (Balitbangkes), the Defense Ministry and the TNI's health center must have the right to obtain information on all Namru-2 activities, Santoso said.

"If within a certain period of time, no accord can be reached (with the United States) on inclusion of these new provisions in the agreement on Namru-2, then our suggestion to the defense minister will be to discontinue cooperation with Namru-2," the TNI chief said.(**)

 

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