Asia Times: Clandestine gun trade thrives in Indonesia


	March 24, 2000	atimes.com

Southeast Asia

Clandestine gun trade thrives in Indonesia
By Kafil Yamin

JAKARTA - Indonesia's only gun and ammunition manufacturer is doing brisk business these days, good news for a company which last year laid off most of its workers because of financial difficulties.

But a bigger turnover for state-owned weapons maker PT Pindad means more guns on the market, and this is worrying many.

Gun possession is illegal in Indonesia so the company's entire production is devoted to serving the requirements of the military (TNI). Pindad caters to foreign orders too, but in smaller quantities.

''Officially, Pindad supplies its production just for the TNI. But some workers of the company run their own arms business outside and receive orders from certain parties,'' said a resident of Kiaracondong, Bandung, who has acquaintances among Pindad's executives. His comments support a widely-held belief that an illegal gun trade is feeding a demand by civilians for firearms.

Earlier this month, Jakarta police found vehicles carrying ammunitions and weapons. The police confiscated thousands of bullets for M-16 and AK-47 automatic rifles, FN pistols, SS-1 rifles and Mausers. The weapons were stored in boxes labelled "Pindad" and were said to be on the way to the troubled province of Aceh, to be supplied to the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

The police were angry but not surprised and vowed to deal with the arms syndicates. ''We will settle this matter thoroughly, no matter who the culprits are. We are now the reformed police, the police of the people,'' said Jakarta police chief Maj Gen Nurfaizi.

People familiar with the clandestine arms trade knew who Nurfaizi referred to as ''culprits''. Who else in Indonesia can transport firearms but the military, they asked. And neither were they naive enough to believe that the weapon were for the Free Aceh separatists.

''Looking at the quantity, it's too few for a separatist group like GAM. It must be for local demand,'' said a police officer who asked for anonymity. By local demand he meant civilian buyers in Jakarta. ''The culprits know that the demand is on the rise,'' he added.

Since the May 1998 rioting and looting in the capital, businessmen, company executives and wealthy families have been receiving offers of guns, bodyguards and other forms of protection from various quarters. One businessman from the real estate complex of Kelapa Gading Permai said he accepted the offer of an AK-46 handgun and also also engaged a ''tough guy'' to protect him. He said he took out a license for the gun, but many of his businessmen friends never bothered with the required licenses. ''They told me this principle: 'safety first','' he said.

A company executive living at the exclusive Lippo Karawaci housing complex said he decided to purchase a pistol for his safety. ''There are moments you cannot rely on the police,'' he said. ''What if a group of people suddenly breaks into your house, destroys your things and takes your belongings while the police are not there?''

Like his friends, he received numerous phone calls offering protection, but he turned them down for financial reasons. ''If I had a bodyguard, I should pay him regularly. And it must not be small money. Having a gun is much more efficient. I would just pay once, and I can abandon it when things return to normal.''

But with the proliferation of guns in the capital, difficulties stemming from a stagnant economy and a still unstable political climate, the incidence of crime is again on the rise. Only recently, unidentified persons fired on the representative office of the United Development Party [PPP] in the House compound. Nobody was reported hurt in the incident and police found no suspects or motive for the attack.

Two weeks ago, two men attacked Matori Abdul Djalil, chairman of the National Awakening Party (PKB) at his residence in Tanjung Mas Raya housing complex. One of the men hit Matori with a machete on the back of his head and on his right arm. The police, who confiscated a machete and an FN-46 gun and two bullets from the suspects, said the attack could have been politically motivated.

Matori is known to be close to President Abdurrahman Wahid and was among those believed to have advised the latter to revamp the military. ''Those who were displaced were not happy with Matori,'' said one politician.

Matori, who is also the co-chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly, suffered only minor injury, but it was enough to evoke extreme fear among some legislators. The very next day, the House pressed the government to arm all legislators, a move the Indonesian police quietly supported.

Provoked by the House move, high-ranking officials in the cabinet demanded the same privilege and got the police's nod.

Not everyone thinks issuing guns to legislators and cabinet ministers is such a good idea though. ''What do the House members think they are? Cowboys? And what will the House and the government become?'' said Freddy Hasibuan, a legislator from Jakarta. "The attack on Matori is not reason for such an irrational wish. That's a childish reaction.''

If and when government officials and politicians get their wish to own guns, sales of PT Pindad will again get a boost. But that could also mean increased violence in a country that has yet to have a respite from quelling separatist fires.

(Inter Press Service)

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