Leopard-Export nach Indonesien fordert erstes Opfer
Information und Analyse, 20. Juli 2012
von Alex Flor
Al Araf
Foto: change.org„Das erste Opfer des Krieges ist die Wahrheit“, lautet ein Zitat, das fälschlicherweise häufig Rudyard Kipling zugeschrieben wird.
Tatsächlich ist der Ausspruch jedoch dem griechischen Dramatiker Aischylos zuzuschreiben, der bereits vor ca. 2.500 Jahren zu dieser Erkenntnis gelangte. Auch wenn die Bundesregierung derzeit auf Ratschläge aus Griechenland nicht sonderlich gut zu sprechen ist, genießt Aischylos’ Ausspruch bis heute höchste Aktualität. Er ließe sich aktuell sogar modifizieren und erweitern zu: „Schon erste Gespräche über Waffenexporte lassen die Wahrheit zum Opfer werden.“ Per SMS bekam Al Araf, Dozent an der Indonesian Defense University in Jakarta, mitgeteilt, dass er seiner Lehr- und Prüfungstätigkeiten mit sofortiger Wirkung entbunden ist. Grund für die Entlassung war ein Meinungsartikel Al Arafs, der am 10. Juli 2012 pünktlich zum Staatsbesuch von Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel in der englischsprachigen Jakarta Post erschien. In dem zusammen mit einem Kollegen verfassten Beitrag „Will 100 Leopards be enough to defend our country?“ setzt sich Al Araf kritisch mit den Fragen von Bedarf und Nutzen der Leopardpanzer auseinander (s.u.). Al Araf ist neben seiner bisherigen Dozententätigkeit auch Mitarbeiter der renomierten Menschenrechtsorganisation IMPARSIAL, die einst von Munir gegründet worden war, dem prominenten Anwalt und Menschenrechtsverteidiger, der 2004 an Bord einer Maschine der staatlichen indonesischen Airline Garuda Indonesia auf dem Flug nach Amsterdam einer Vergiftung erlag. Die Hintermänner dieses Mordes, die im militärisch dominierten Geheimdienst zu vermuten sind, bleiben bis heute im Dunkeln. Politik und Justiz Indonesiens haben den Fall längst ad acta gelegt. Die Indonesian Defense University wurde im März 2009 gegründet. Sie genießt im Rahmen der bilateralen Kooperation zur Sicherheitssektorreform in Indonesien finanzielle und logistische Unterstützung durch die Bundesregierung (s. www.watchindonesia.org/II_1_09/II1_09.pdf, S. 38). Seit gestern steht eine indonesischsprachige online-Petition im Netz. Die Unterzeichner fordern den Rektor der Indonesian Defense University auf die Kündigung Al Arafs zurückzunehmen. Die Petition kann unter http://www.change.org/id/petisi/menhan-rektor-unhan-harus-batalkan-pemecatan-al-araf# aufgerufen und unterzeichnet werden. Die Deutsche Bundesregierung und insbesondere Kanzlerin Merkel, die erst letzte Woche aus Indonesien zurückgekehrt ist, stehen in der Pflicht gegenüber der Regierung Indonesiens und der von Deutschland ko-finanzierten Indonesian Defense University energischen Protest gegen die nicht hinnehmbare Beschneidung der Meinungsfreiheit und die Verletzung der Unabhängigkeit von Forschung und Lehre einzulegen.
The Jakarta Post, July 18, 2012
Lecturer Dismissed After Criticizing Govt
by Bagus BT Saragih
The Indonesian Defense University dismissed one of its non-permanent lecturers, Al Araf, after the media publicized the latter’s opinion pieces, which criticized the alleged irregularities in the government’s weapon procurement projects. Rector, Lt. Gen. (ret) Syarifuddin Tippe, confirmed on Wednesday that the dismissal had been linked to Al Araf’s recent opinion pieces in a number of national newspapers including The Jakarta Post and Kompas dailies. “By being one of the university’s academic members, Al Araf had become [a member of] our defense community who should have consulted his colleagues here first before writing in newspaper. Besides, not everything he wrote was true, too,” Syarifuddin told the Post. He added that Al Araf, also a human rights activist, had been warned after another opinion piece, in which he suggested the existence of peculiarities in the government’s plan to procure Russia-made Sukhoi fighter jets, was published in April. “But then he did it again by criticizing the procurement of Leopard tanks. So, it’s all caused by his own actions,” Syarifuddin said. Al Araf, who is also the program director of human rights watchdog Imparsial, said he really regretted the university’s decision. “This is a renewed Soeharto era style of pressure against freedom of expression and academic freedom,” he said, adding that his dismissal could even increase his spirit to criticize the government. Al Araf regularly contributes opinion pieces to the Post. One of his latest pieces was entitled “Will 100 Leopards be enough to defend our country?”. Its publication on July 10 coincided with German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to Jakarta. In the article, Al Araf questioned the government’s decision to procure up to 100 refurbished Leopard 2A6 main battle tanks (MBT), worth US$280 million, from Germany. (nvn)
Jakarta Post, 10 July 2012
Will 100 Leopards be enough to defend our country?
Al Araf and Anton Aliabbas, Jakarta
The government has finally decided to purchase 100 refurbished main Battle Tanks (MBT) Leopard 2A6 from Germany, ending months of controversy around its initial plan to buy secondhand from the Netherlands. It remains debatable whether the US$280 million shopping spree is really necessary to modernize Indonesia’s primary weaponry systems and enhance the country’s defense force. Nevertheless, it is important to note that the procurement of the combat vehicles is as continuation of the country’s defense strategy. The Defense Ministry’s decision to purchase 100 Leopard tanks is both incorrect and untimely. Assessments from the House of Representatives, military retirees, military observers and civil society groups reveal that the purchase is not urgent, and that the tanks are unsuitable for the Indonesian terrain and infrastructure. If the tanks are to be used to secure the border in Kalimantan or Papua, then their deployment will require road infrastructure and sea transportation, which the two islands lack. The road along the Kalimantan border was not built for tanks. According to news reports these vehicles are needed to protect the Indonesian frontiers. However, during a hearing at the House at the end of last year, the Indonesian Military stated that the tanks would be placed in Jakarta and Surabaya. The contradictory statements raise questions as to whether the tanks will be used to face demonstrators like in Egypt and Syria. Furthermore, it is important to underline that stationing these Leopard tanks in Papua, will raise concerns that they will be used to suppress the Papuan people. While security conditions in Papua these days remain volatile, any deployment of the tanks in the province will potentially risk exacerbating human rights violations there. This procurement shows the inconsistency of the country’s defense policy. This purchase was not included in the national defense position outlined in 2007. Even if there have been fundamental changes in the security threat, the government should be able to revise the national defense strategy. The tank procurement plan raises real questions about severity and nature of the threat from Malaysia along the Kalimantan border. These tanks are easy prey to air-to-land assaults. If Indonesia wants to protect its frontiers, surely we need Unmanned Aerial Vehicles — the drones we hear so much about on the news from Pakistan and other war zones? Amid budget constraints and the global economic meltdown, it is important for the government to exercise prudence in allocating the defense budget. They must establish gradual process in modernizing the defense equipment, with milestones and reality checks. Purchase of war machines (and any other use of public funds) must be based on the objective needs of national defense. Not political interests or the financial gain of certain groups or elites. Transparency and accountability in the defense sector remain opaque and unaccountable. Empowerment of our land defenses is necessary and urgent. Geographical constraints, infrastructure, strategy and defense doctrine must be the primary consideration in procurement. Indonesia has plans to develop and produce medium and light tanks in collaboration with other countries. Medium and light tanks are far more effective and operable than the MBT are also in line with our ambition to develop the national defense industry. Strengthening of land forces should include the purchase of helicopters capable of combat and transport duties. For frontier defense, Indonesia needs missiles with range up to 500 kilometers and radar system with coverage of 500km. Deterrence effects will come through a better naval fleet with more submarines and warships, and by boosting the air force. In purchasing defense equipment, it is important to stay in line with the existing defense policy. New defense equipment does not just appear in an empty space. Unless it is part of a strategy, it is useless. The visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to Jakarta should increase the quality of the 60-year-old cooperation between Germany and by focusing on modernization of Indonesia’s defense forces in a way that is compatible with our objective needs. Defense cooperation should mean protection of human rights in Indonesia, which until today remains an open sore, given the rampant practice of impunity for perpetrators of past abuses. We hope the honorable Chancellor will pay attention to such concerns. ♦ Al Araf, program director of Imparsial Human Rights Group, and Anton Aliabbas, program director of The Ridep Institute, an NGO focused on researching security sector reform, are members of the Civil Advocacy for Security Sector Reform.
