TNI may sue US journalist for report

JAKARTA: The Indonesian military (TNI) said Thursday it could file a lawsuit against American journalist Allan Nairn for writing an article accusing the TNI's special forces of masterminding the killing of political activists in the once-restive Aceh province.

"We have talked with relevant institutions including the Foreign Ministry and the presidential spokesman for foreign affairs issues about a possible lawsuit against Alan," TNI spokesman Sagom Tamboen said as quoted by Antara.

He said Nairn's piece, "Indonesian Army, Kopassus, Implicated in New Assassinations. Forces Chosen by Obama for Renewed US Aid Ran '09 Activist Murder", which claims the special forces (Kopassus) was involved in the murder of at least eight Aceh Party members in 2009, was baseless and had tainted the TNI's image.

Sagom said he was optimistic that the planned lawsuit against Nairn would not affect defense ties between Jakarta and Washington.

"The US has military representatives who could monitor directly what the TNI, especially the special forces, has been doing in reforming itself. So they get firsthand information *on the TNI*." - JP