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Army sends armed helos to Sudan
The Indonesian Army is sending three armed helicopters to Darfur, Sudan, as part of a peacekeeping mission
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he Indonesian Army is sending three armed helicopters to Darfur, Sudan, as part of a peacekeeping mission.
The aviators and support personnel will be assigned to the Indonesian Military's (TNI's) peacekeeping force, the Garuda Contingent (Konga), deployment XXXV-A, and will depart for Darfur in July for a 1-year tour.
The aircraft, three Russian-made Mi-17 V5 helicopter gunships, will be transported by a giant Ukrainian-made Antonov An-124 Ruslan strategic lift transport aircraft.
Konga XXXV-A commander Lt. Col. Eko Priyanto said his contingent would comprise 120 officers and enlisted soldiers.
'Each helicopter will be manned by two pilots and two co-pilots. All personnel are ready to go,' Eko said. 'They have been undergoing preparation for the last month at the Army Aviation Center in Semarang.'
The Konga soldiers would be 'expected to be able to fly their helicopters at all time and over all types of terrain for air mobility, evacuation and search and rescue duties', Eko added.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the Indonesian government in March 2012 to make available TNI helicopters to supplement its peacekeeping missions.
The appeal was made when Ban visited the Indonesian Peacekeeping Center (PMPP) in Sentul, West Java, and was repeated when he addressed the Jakarta International Defense Dialogue.
PMPP Center commander Brig. Gen. Imam Edy told The Jakarta Post that the contingent would supplement the United African Union Mission in Darfur or UNAMID's aviation arm, providing logistics and medevac services.
The TNI previously deployed a Navy warship equipped with a German-made shipborne NBO-105 light helicopter under the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). 'But the helicopter only served the warship and not the mission,' Imam said.
Asked if the TNI would send ground troops to Darfur, Imam said there had been a political decision from the President and that troops were being prepared for future deployments. 'We are still preparing the finances to deploy ground troops to Darfur.'
Indonesia currently has several National Police officers deployed to Darfur under the UN.
According to Army chief Gen. Pramono Edhie Wibowo on Saturday, this is the first time Indonesia will be involved in UN peacekeeping operations using helicopters. Pramono was at the Army Aviation Center in Semarang, Central Java, to inspect the troops and helicopters to be sent to Sudan.
He said that Indonesian peacekeepers had developed a good reputation on peacekeeping missions, which have dated to the first Garuda Contingent deployment in the 1960s. 'Therefore you have to keep it,' the general said.
Meanwhile, two of the soldiers to be deployed are women: First Lt. Des Wiwik and Second Sgt. Widya.
'I believe that the Indonesian peacekeepers will be accepted in Sudan,' Wiwik told the Post.
The lieutenant said that she was proud to be part of the mission and expected that everything would go smoothly so that she and her soldiers could return home safely.
Members of the contingent will also have a cultural mission and will be trained to perform various traditional dances, according to officials.
Novan Iman Santosa contributed reporting from Jakarta
