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TNI warns of foreign meddling
Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen
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ndonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. Moeldoko said on Monday that the nation's armed forces would intensify their vigilance amid rising tensions with Australia and Singapore, which came at a time when Indonesia was preparing for elections.
In a closed-door meeting with the House of Representatives Commission I overseeing foreign affairs and defense, Moeldoko was asked if the recent bilateral spats with Canberra and Singapore were designed by foreign powers to disrupt the elections that would be held within the next six months.
The TNI commander said he believed the incidents had nothing to do with the elections, but that he was aware that the country was now focusing on domestic security prior to the legislative election and the election to determine the successor to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. '[What has happened recently] was accidental, but we will always be alert in protecting our borders,' Moeldoko said.
Relations between Indonesia and Singapore turned sour recently following Jakarta's decision to name a Navy frigate after two Indonesian national heroes who were executed in the city-state in the 1960s for a bomb attack that killed three people.
Singapore has protested Indonesia's move, saying that it would open old wounds and hurt the feelings of the victims of the bombing, which took place during Indonesia's confrontation with Malaysia.
Jakarta, however, ignored Singapore's concerns, prompting the latter to cancel a bilateral meeting on the two nations' defense cooperation and the former to cancel its attendance at the Singapore Airshow.
The row with Singapore came after Jakarta and Canberra froze cooperation over the latter's alleged spying on Yudhoyono and its unilateral move to tow undocumented migrants seeking asylum in Australia back to Indonesian waters.
Moeldoko assured the commission that despite media reports about Indonesia's relationships and its neighbors, including Australia, Singapore and Papua New Guinea (PNG), over recent issues, the countries' ties in terms of defense remained conducive.
'It's all about misunderstandings. Otherwise, I would not be able to reassure you now,' Moeldoko said.
House Commission I chairman Mahfudz Siddiq said that it was odd that so many incidents involving the neighboring countries had occurred successively so close to the polls.
On Saturday, five Indonesian fishermen from Merauke were reported missing after their boat was destroyed by PNG naval personnel and the men were forced to swim to the shore.
The PNG personnel reportedly checked the men's documents and proceeded to confiscate a sum of money, cigarettes and two cans of fuel. The PNG sailors then set the fishermen's boat alight and ordered the 10 passengers to swim back to Merauke.
Only five fishermen managed to reach the coast off Karu, which is also in PNG territory, while the other five men remain unaccounted for.
According to Moeldoko, the TNI is investigating the incident.
'Three incidents taking place one after the other. This is unusual,' Mahfudz said. The commission, he added, therefore urged Moeldoko to investigate the possibility of 'intentional design' by foreign agencies and to increase measures to protect the country from foreign threats while at the same time focusing on safeguarding the elections.
Several lawmakers said that the response by Singapore to the naming of the KRI Usman-Harun 359 in of honor two marines operating under the identities of Usman bin Haji Muhammad Ali and Harun bin Said was excessive.
The two men were executed in Singapore in 1968 for the bombing of MacDonald House on Orchard Road, which left three dead and 33 injured.
Moeldoko himself had asked Singapore to stop calling the duo 'terrorists'. 'I cannot accept that Usman and Harun are represented as terrorists. They were marines. They were working for the state,' Moeldoko said.
Usman, whose real name was Janatin, and Harun, whose real name was Tohir bin Mandar, were tasked with infiltrating Singapore during the confrontation with newly independent Malaysia in the 1960s. (dhi)
