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'Charlie' tells more about Kopassus

The need for Densus 81 to have its own intelligence unit was felt after the unit took part in securing the ASEAN summit in Manila in December 1987 under the threat of a rebellion by the Philippines' own Lt. Col. Gringo Honasan. 

Novan Iman Santosa (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Tue, September 29, 2020

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'Charlie' tells more about Kopassus

T

he appointment of two former members of Tim Mawar (Rose Team) to two-star posts at the Defense Ministry has again put the spotlight on that infamous grouping.

The team was a covert operation set up during the last leg of the New Order regime in 1997-1998, carried out by operatives from the Army's Special Forces Command (Kopassus) Group 4/Sandi Yudha, or Combat Intelligence.

Kopassus was at the time led by Maj. Gen. Prabowo Subianto, the current defense minister, when it was tasked with “securing” nine anti-Soeharto activists.

Prolific military writer Ken Conboy mentions Tim Mawar in a footnote in his new book Charlie: Special Operations in Indonesia 1988-1993, a sequel to his 2002 book Kopassus: Inside Indonesia’s Special Forces. 

While Kopassus traces back to the early days of the special forces unit, Charlie focuses on a five-year period when Kopassus was developing its intelligence capabilities.

The book does not focus on Grup 4 but instead a project called Project Charlie whose participants were taken from Kopassus's counterterror unit the 81st Special Detachment (Densus 81).

The need for Densus 81 to have its own intelligence unit was felt after the unit took part in securing the ASEAN summit in Manila in December 1987 under the threat of a rebellion by the Philippines' own Lt. Col. Gringo Honasan.  

Densus 81 chief Lt. Col. Luhut Pandjaitan led his team to Manila and during the preparation phase found that Densus 81 lacked the intelligence capabilities wielded by similar units from other countries.

Charlie opens with Operation Woyla, taken from Kopassus, the operation to free hostages from a hijacked Garuda Indonesia DC-9 jetliner that had been diverted to Bangkok.

Several other parts from Kopassus are inserted into Charlie, such as operations in the restive provinces of Aceh and the then East Timor.

Charlie includes a new chapter on the capture of East Timorese rebel leader Xanana Gusmao, as well as Operation Mapenduma in Papua, which propelled Prabowo into the spotlight.

Conboy also repeats Kopassus’ success in apprehending two foreigners – although it is inconclusive whether they were Americans and/or Australians – who were suspected of supplying the Free Papua Organization (OMP) rebels with weapons and other supplies by means of a drop zone in Papua New Guinea.

Densus 81 sent a long-range patrol mission to conduct a stakeout to catch the weapons suppliers. Their hard work was fruitful when two white males emerged from the thick jungle into the drop zone. 

The two were described as young and fit and carrying military-issue radios, as well as holding a detailed map of the border.

Charlie also tells of an operation to uncover two spies working as third and second secretaries at the Australian Embassy who were bribing a military officer for sensitive information. Both countries kept the incident low key with Australia repatriating its agents.

Charlie is also full of short biographies of top Indonesian generals who were involved in the project, from senior men such as Luhut and Prabowo down to the younger generation such as Hotmangaraja Panjaitan and Lodewijk Paulus, to name but a few.

Project Charlie was named subsequent to two previous secret projects.

Project Alpha was the acquisition in 1980 of United States-made A-4 Skyhawk ground attack jets from Israel while Project Beta was the modernization of Soviet PT-76 amphibious tanks and BTR-50 amphibious personnel carriers by five Israeli technicians in a factory in West Java.

Project Charlie would also use Israeli assistance, as Conboy states in his latest book.

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