I'nesian army eavesdropping push raises fears ahead of poll
The Indonesian Military (TNI) expects to boost its eavesdropping capability with the purchase of millions of dollars of new intelligence equipment, including sophisticated wiretapping devices, by its Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS).
The equipment is worth 4.2 million pounds (Bt210 million) and was procured with loans from the UK government. Shipment will be completed by the end of this year.
The House of Representatives has expressed concern that the equipment, especially the wiretapping devices, could easily be abused during the run-up to the 2014 general election.
“We must warn the military not to misuse this stuff for activities beyond its mandate, especially now that we are moving closer to the elections,” Mahfudz Siddiq, chairman of Commission I which oversees defence and foreign affairs, said on Sunday.
Mahfudz urged the TNI to remain neutral in the election.
Commission I deputy chairman Tubagus Hasanuddin from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) had earlier expressed similar concerns, saying “Commission I will closely monitor the use of the new intelligence equipment.”
Hasanuddin, a retired two-star Army general, said Commission I would set up a special team to monitor how the BAIS would use the wiretapping devices in the months leading up to the 2014 elections.
Despite concerns, the procurement project won approval from the commission last year.
Defence Ministry Spokesman Brig-General Sisriadi Iskandar gave assurances that the equipment would not be abused for political purposes.
“I do appreciate the concerns expressed by Commission I, which remind us to use the intelligence equipment with discretion. As our commander has stated, the military will be neutral in using what has been entrusted to us,” he said.
The revelation of the intelligence equipment purchase came in UK Export Finance’s annual report released on June 20 this year.
The move drew criticism from the UK-based Jubilee Debt Campaign, a non-profit organisation that promotes freedom from the slavery of unjust debts, stating on its website that the UK government had forced Indonesia, as well as other countries that received the loans, into greater debt without assessing the impact or the ability of the countries to repay.
According to the organisation, Indonesia still owes the UK government $560 million (about Bt1.75 billion), mainly from arms sales to the regime of former president Suharto.
