TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Entering through the Wisma Negara, which is out of range for reporters, Gen. Wiranto and Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo sat in the office of President Joko Widodo at the Presidential Palace on Wednesday last week. Jokowi had summoned the two following a commotion over the illegal import of assault weapons, an issue which had been raised by Gatot on Friday the previous week.
Jokowi was already waiting for them, accompanied by Minister/State Secretary Pratikno. Arriving somewhat late, a high-ranking police officer joined them. They spoke for an hour about the import of those weapons, but the government officials did not say a word as they left the Palace and encountered reporters in the parking area.
Presidential Palace spokesman Johan Budi Sapto Pribowo said the closed meeting with Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Wiranto and Commander of the Indonesian Military (TNI) Gatot Nurmantyo was just to talk about the planned anniversary events for the TNI on October 5 this week. ¡°Also, the Commander invited Jokowi to watch a traditional wayang shadow puppet play," said Johan on Wednesday last week.
Gatot made the accusation of the illegal import of weapons during an informal gathering of retired TNI personnel. Speaking to his seniors, he said that there was an institution which purchased 5,000 assault rifles using the President's name. "If this information was not A-1, I would not mention it here," said Gatot.
The statement spread far and wide because the media covered the gathering. Gatot spoke fervently, saying they would attack the institution for improperly bringing in weapons. Reporters included this heated statement in their reports.
Speculation ensued, as Gatot Nurmantyo did not mention the institution by name. On top of that, the following day Wiranto explained that Gatot's statement was just the result of a miscommunication between institutions. According to Wiranto, it was the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) which imported some weapons, and it was just 500 firearms.
Minister of Defense Ryamizard Ryacudu backed this up by showing an arms purchase request from BIN on Tuesday last week. The letter, signed by BIN Deputy Chief Lieut. Gen. Teddy Lhaksmana, was sent in May for a purchase to Pindad.
In its letter to Ryamizard, BIN requested weapons for training at the State Intelligence College (STIN). Copies of the letter were addressed to the Assistant TNI Commander, the Chief of the Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS), and the Directorate-General of Defense Strength.
BIN attached specifications for the weapons they wanted to purchase, namely 521 SS2 V2 assault rifles of 5.56 x 45 millimeter caliber, and 72,750 MU1-TJA1 bullets. Ryamizard had forbidden the purchase of this type of weapon because it was military-grade. It was authorized after the specifications were changed to civilian-grade weapons. "They fixed it to be for non-lethal weapons," said Ryamizard.
Bayu A. Fiantoro, Pindad's company secretary, confirmed that BIN had placed a weapons order. However, this was not for 517 firearms as was mentioned by the Ministry of Defense. "It was for 591 non-military weapons," said Bayu to Ahmad Fikri from Tempo.
Tempo noted the differing figures each institution gave for the firearms purchased.
From there, the issue became more complicated. After Wiranto's counterstatement, Gatot Nurmantyo emphasized that his statement to those retired TNI personnel was not meant for media publication. Gatot's accusation became unclear and invited further speculations.
Read the full article in this week's edition of Tempo English Magazine
