Tuesday, July 29, 2014

The US and the Gaza Murders: A Perpetrator, not a Mediator

As Israel continues to murder civilians by dropping precision bombs on Gaza, some are claiming that Washington is powerless to hold Israel back.

This is false.  If it wanted to, the US could bomb the Israeli airfields and take out Netanyahu's command and control, as it did to Saddam Hussein's.

Or, if it didn't want to go that far in defense of Palestinian life, the US could simply impose an immediate full-scale cutoff of its aid to Israel.

The US will not take either step because rather than being a mediator, the US is in this case a perpetrator.  It is one of the killers, on Israel's side.

Just as Russia bears responsibility for the crimes of its client forces in Ukraine, the US bears responsibility for the crimes of its far-closer client, Israel.

Those are American F-16s bombing Gaza.  Those children die from US shrapnel.

Their deaths are on the heads of both Israel and the United States.

Allan Nairn



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Sunday, July 20, 2014

Israelis and Americans: Recover Your Souls

The Israeli slaughter of Gaza civilians continues uninterrupted by any human decency inside Israelis or by the ridiculous pretense of Western respect for human life or the rule of law.

It also continues unchallenged by the threat of countervailing force.

The at least 1,600 Hamas and other rockets have so far, killed one Israeli (a civilian; one other was killed by mortar fire).  In addition to being, in my view, impermissible (there is a legal right to resist aggression and occupation, but the rocket tactic does threaten civilians), they constitute perhaps the least effective munitions in warfare history.

The rockets are no deterrent to Israel.  They give Israel political cover.

The only partial deterrent, that used to exist, was from the armies of Arab states like Egypt, and, in recent times, the briefly floated -- and abandoned -- notion that Turkey might stand up somehow.

Lethal violence is an abomination, but, on rare occasions, it is necessary, if using or threatening it against armed killers is what truly seems required to save lives.

The Israeli polity is in a state of something like sustained war frenzy.  It requires inflicting periodic Arab or Muslim mass death for energy and rejustification.

It is a hotter, faster-paced version of the US doctrine/ compulsion.

As the US strategist Michael Ledeen once explained it: "Every ten years or so, the United States needs to pick up some small crappy little country and throw it against the wall, just to show the world we mean business" ( as rendered by Jonah Goldberg in the conservative National Review online, April 23, 2002).

Faced with countries like this that feel internally compelled to continually kill beyond their borders, it is justified for the outside world to consider using armed deterrence.

This is an ugly, dangerous, state of affairs.

There is a better -- peaceful -- alternative:  Israelis and Americans, recover your souls.  Stand up and say no more slaughter.


Allan Nairn 



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Sunday, July 13, 2014

AS dan serangan ke Gaza. Amerika semestinya konsisten.

11 Juli 

Dengan mendukung pemboman atas rumah-rumah warga sipil di Gaza, sekali lagi pemerintah AS telah membantu--dan melakukan--pembantaian.

Pemerintah Israel telah menyatakan bahwa serangan bom tersebut dibenarkan, karena militan-militan Hamas tinggal di lingkungan penduduk sipil itu.

Apakah Washington bisa menerima seandainya pasukan asing berhak membom setiap rumah Amerika yang ditinggali anggota militer AS?

Apakah lantas Washington siap menyediakan bom dan pesawat tempur untuk serangan terhadap rumah-rumah tersebut? Itulah yang persis dilakukan AS sekarang di Palestina.

Allan Nairn


Link ke versi Bahasa Inggris

Link ke "Orasi di Tugu Proklamasi, Allan Nairn Dukung Indonesia Bantu Palestina"
Link ke "Allan Nairn: Dukung Palestina, Jokowi Harus Konsisten Juga Adili Jenderal Pelanggar HAM"

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Kemenangan di Indonesia

10 Juli 

Jika hasil proses hitung cepat (quick count) yang diselenggarakan sejumlah lembaga terpercaya itu benar--dan ada alasan untuk menilainya sebagai kebenaran--maka peluang kemunculan fasisme di Indonesia telah di kalahkan.

Beberapa minggu terakhir, Indonesia, negeri berpenduduk terbesar no.4 di dunia, nampaknya nyaris memilih seorang pembunuh massal yang selama sekian dekade bekerja melayani AS.

Ia menyerukan supaya pemilihan langsung dihapus. Ia pernah ngelantur panjang lebar tentang fasisme dan kediktatoran, serta belakangan ini memanfaatkan Kopassus dan Intelijen dalam operasi senyap untuk mengacaukan pemilu.

Namun pada Rabu 9 Juli, suatu hari yang tak akan terlupakan oleh sejarah, Jenderal Prabowo Subianto kalah tipis di bilik suara.

Hari itu saya menghabiskan waktu di kampung kelas pekeja miskin. Ada aroma keseriusan ketika orang beramai-ramai ke TPS.

Ketika hasil pemilihan kian jelas, seorang laki-laki kerempeng yang duduk di atas kursi kayu mengatakan: "Rakyat menang."

Ia tidak tersenyum. Ia kelihatan lega.

Allan Nairn


Link ke versi Bahasa Inggris


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Friday, July 11, 2014

The US and the Bombing of Gaza. It is Necessary to be Consistent.


By supporting Israel's bombing of civilian homes in Gaza the US government is once again an accomplice to and perpetrator of murder.

The Israeli government has said its bombing of civilian homes is justified because Hamas militants are among those who live inside them.

So would Washington then accept that foreign forces have the right to bomb every US household that includes a member of the US Army?

And would Washington then be ready to provide bombs and aircraft for those home attacks?   Because that is precisely what the US is doing right now in Palestine.

Allan Nairn



Link to Bahasa Indonesia translation

Link to "Orasi di Tugu Proklamasi, Allan Nairn Dukung Indonesia Bantu Palestina"
Link to "Allan Nairn: Dukung Palestina, Jokowi Harus Konsisten Juga Adili Jenderal Pelanggar HAM"


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Thursday, July 10, 2014

Victory in Indonesia

If the main quick counts are correct, and there is reason to think they are, the prospect of fascism has been defeated in Indonesia.

For the past few weeks, Indonesia, the fourth most populous country on earth, has seemed on the verge of electing a mass killer who worked for decades for the United States.

He called for abolition of the direct vote, mused about fascism and dictatorship, and used the country's special forces and intelligence in a covert attempt to subvert the election
.

But on Wednesday,  July 9,  a day that history will not forget, General Prabowo Subianto was narrowly turned back at the ballot box.


In the poor, working class kampung where I spent election day, there was a deep sense of seriousness as people walked to the polling place.

As the results became apparent, a thin man sitting on a wooden bench said:  "The rakyat (the people) won."

He did not smile.  He looked relieved.

Allan Nairn

Link to Bahasa Indonesia translation


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Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Kepada Polisi dan Publik

Baru saja muncul laporan yang belum terkonfirmasi bahwa timses Prabowo akan berusaha melaporkan saya ke POLRI untuk delik yang belum jelas.

Jika pihak kepolisian ingin memeriksa saya, saya meminta mereka untuk melakukannya hari ini secara terbuka di depan publik, dengan kehadiran Prabowo, tepat sebelum pemilu besok.

Saya berusaha memberitahukan kepada polisi dan publik tentang bekingan AS untuk Prabowo saat ia membantai warga sipil, demikian pula laporan saya baru-baru ini bahwa lembaga-lembaga negara (Kopassus dan BIN) secara rahasia dan ilegal bekerja untuk memenangkan Prabowo sebagai presiden.

Allan Nairn


Link ke versi Bahasa Inggris


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Keterangan Timses Prabowo: kami tidak perlu menjelaskan apapun kepada Keluarga Gus Dur

Hari minggu malam, keluarga Gus Dur menyayangkan pernyataan Prabowo, dan memintanya menjelaskan komentar-komentarnya di hadapan saya mengenai mendiang presiden Gus Dur.

(Lihat 
"'Do I have the guts,' Prabowo asked, 'am I ready to be called a fascist dictator?'""'Apa saya cukup punya nyali,' tanya Prabowo, 'apa saya siap jika disebut diktator fasis?'").

Hari ini, selasa siang, Metro TV menyiarkan berita tentang penghinaan Prabowo [terhadap Gus Dur]. Berita ini menampilkan potongan video [footage] seorang juru bicara yang mengatakan bahwa Prabowo tidak merasa perlu menjelaskan apa-apa kepada keluarga Gus Dur.

Kamis minggu lalu, saya bertemu keluarga Gus Dur di Jakarta.

Kami terlibat dalam perbincangan yang hangat, lama, dan mendalam tentang apa yang dikatakan Prabowo pada saya, tentang tekanan-tekanan yang dialami keluarga Gus Dur, dan tentang kerja-kerja mereka untuk memastikan agar pemilihan umum ini berlangsung adil dan damai.

Allan Nairn 


Link ke versi Bahasa Inggris
Link ke "SIKAP KELUARGA KH ABDURRAHMAN WAHID MENGENAI KONTROVERSI WAWANCARA BP. PRABOWO SUBIANTO YANG DIANGGAP HINA GUS DUR"


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Prabowo Campaign Says He Does Not Owe the Gus Dur Family an Explanation

On Sunday night the Gus Dur family issued a very strong statement asking that Prabowo explain the comments he made to me regarding the late president. 

(See "'Do I have the guts,' Prabowo asked, 'am I ready to be called a fascist dictator?'"; "'Apa saya cukup punya nyali,' tanya Prabowo, 'apa saya siap jika disebut diktator fasis?'").

Today, midday Tuesday,  Metro TV ran a news piece on the Prabowo insult which showed footage of a Prabowo spokesman saying Prabowo did not owe the Gus Dur family an explanation.

Last Thursday, I met the Gus Dur family in Jakarta.  

We had a long, thorough, friendly discussion about what Prabowo said to me, about the pressures the family has endured, and about their work to ensure that this election is carried out fairly and peacefully.

Allan Nairn


Link ke versi Bahasa Indonesia Link to "SIKAP KELUARGA KH ABDURRAHMAN WAHID MENGENAI KONTROVERSI WAWANCARA BP. PRABOWO SUBIANTO YANG DIANGGAP HINA GUS DUR"


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Telling the Police and the Public

There is an unconfirmed report that today the Prabowo campaign will try to report me to POLRI, the Indonesian national police, for offenses still unspecified.

If the police want to question me I ask that they do it today, before the election, and that they do it publicly, with General Prabowo present.

I look forward to telling the police and the public about US backing for Prabowo as he killed civilians, as well as my recent report that other state agencies (Kopassus and BIN) are covertly, and illegally, working to make Prabowo president.

Allan Nairn





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Monday, July 7, 2014

Prabowo, Part 3: The NSA, Militia Terror, Aceh, Servants, and "Slaves"

By Allan Nairn

At one point during our meetings in Jakarta in 2001, General Prabowo started talking about the US National Security Agency (NSA).

Prabowo had already described how he reported to the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) at least weekly and had mentioned his extensive work with other parts of the Pentagon.

When I asked about crimes by the TNI/ ABRI (the armed forces of Indonesia) Prabowo said that evidence of them could be found in the archives of the NSA.

He said his US handlers had talked to him about the extensive electronic surveillance that NSA, with help from Australia, was carrying out against Indonesia.

Some of this was already public record, but Prabowo said he knew more.

I asked if he had passed this information to his superiors and subordinates in the TNI/ABRI.

Prabowo replied "I don't remember if I sent a memo warning about it [the intercepts] but everyone should assume that" -- ie. assume that they were taking place.

The context for this was interesting.

Prabowo was not referring to his own crimes, but to those of his rival, General Wiranto.

He said that Wiranto was responsible for the 1999 East Timor TNI militia arson and massacre, and that Wiranto's main man on the ground was General Zacky Anwar Makarim.

Prabowo noted with apparent bitterness "I was the Americans' fair-haired boy," but now that the US had ditched him "Wiranto is their fair-haired boy."

Prabowo said that during the terror Wiranto was "close to" the US CINCPAC (Commander in Chief, Pacific) Admiral Dennis Blair.


Prabowo added that from its intercepts and from its direct involvement, the US knew exactly what Wiranto had been up to.

As far as I can tell, all of this was accurate.

I had reported in 1999, as TNI and the militias were burning Dili, internal US documents showed that Wiranto had a green light from Blair.  
 ("US Complicity in Timor," The Nation [US], September 27, 1999; see also "Breaking News: US Intel Nominee Lied About '99 Massacre.  US, Church Documents Show Adm. Dennis Blair Knew of Church Killings Before Crucial Meeting.")

It was also the case, as I reported then, that many TNI atrocities were ordered through communications equipment that was interceptable.

Prabowo said "Only they [the NSA] would have the evidence of Wiranto's militia operations."

He said he had "heard that now DC is saying prosecution of Wiranto is no longer necessary."

This latter statement was misleading, since the US had never backed prosecution (The UN, though, did indict Wiranto for crimes against humanity).  


But Prabowo's point that the US was shielding Wiranto was indeed correct.

Prabowo knew the US procedures well.  The US had backed and shielded his crimes for decades.


-----

NSA surveillance has recently become an international issue.


The US should be pushed to divulge what it has on crimes by itself and those it sponsors.

-----

When Prabowo implicated General Zacky to me it wasn't entirely self-serving, since Prabowo acknowledged that he himself had often set up such militias.  


He said correctly that such forces were part of US counterinsurgency doctrine, and that he, Prabowo, had set militias up during his years in Timor.

He said "All counterinsurgency operations need militias, paramilitaries.  The US uses them."  


"They speak the local dialect, know the area.  They use tactics of claiming to be the other side."

He said that he presumed that as we spoke, in 2001, Kopassus was running such militias in Aceh, and was hiding its men in plainclothes and in BRIMOB uniform.

Prabowo knew in detail about Zacky's Timor operation because Zacky had been his -- Prabowo's -- man until he "abandoned" Prabowo for Wiranto.

The TNI-run militiamen committed rape, mass murder, torture and arson.  


But Prabowo's objection to them was not their crimes but their uncouth personalities.

He said Eurico Guterres, of Timor's Aitarak, was "a street punk, a gambler, barely literate." Though Eurico worked for Kopassus,  Prabowo said he found him "disgusting."  


Today, the press says Eurico is "ready to become a minister in a Prabowo cabinet." ("Eurico Guterres siap jadi menteri  kabinet Prabowo").

-----

At the time we spoke, there had been a bombing at the Jakarta stock exchange (JSX) nine months earlier.  


Prabowo said one of those involved was an ethnic Acehnese ex-Kopassus (Group 5).

He said  "Its a problem letting Acehnese in there," (the military) because the Acehnese were not trustworthy.

Prabowo said"Its like Black Panthers in the US.  Do you keep blacks out of the military?"

Today, the Aceh ex-GAM leadership has endorsed Prabowo for president.

I discussed this twice with Muzakir Manaf, the former GAM guerrilla commander.  


The first time was on April 10, 2012  right after ex-GAM won local Aceh elections.  The second was last February 9 when Muzakir was serving as the Aceh vice governor.  

On both occasions I asked Muzakir if it was true that, as I had reported in 2010, the former Kopassus commander,  General Sunarko, had helped assassinate pro-GAM activists during 2009.  

Muzakir's response on this was significant since, by 2012, Sunarko had become a Muzakir ally.  They were waging an election campaign together.  

On both occasions Muzakir said yes, it was true, Sunarko helped command the murders.

So why was GAM now supporting Sunarko, this man who had killed their comrades?  

Two reasons, Muzakir said, first, Sunarko could help with the Central Aceh Gayo vote, and second, Sunarko was in Prabowo's party and Prabowo was giving GAM lots of money.  

Last February Muzakir acknowledged to me that Prabowo's Kopassus had murdered Aceh civilians. 

But Muzakir said "He [Prabowo] had his orders, that was his national necessity.  That is all in the past now."  

When I asked Muzakir if his new friend Prabowo should be tried for crimes against humanity, he replied "That is not up to me.  That is up to others, maybe internationally."

-----

Prabowo was careful when he spoke to me to avoid implicating himself criminally.


It was not that he was denying things, he was just refusing to talk about them.

But there was one interesting case, when he appeared to come to the verge of discussing his role in the 1998 Jakarta riots that featured murder, rape and anti-Chinese violence.  


Prabowo had just finished blaming Wiranto for a long list of what he saw as political embarrassments, including the highly-publicized ABRI murders of civilian demonstrators at Trisakti and at Semanggi 1 and 2.

But when it came to the riots, Prabowo did not attempt to blame Wiranto.  


Instead, he said, with what could have been pride: "There were 128 fires at one time.  This was an operation: planned, instigated, controlled."

The only thing he would not say was who had done the controlling.

-----

Prabowo reminisced that during his time in occupied Timor, in the Kopassus camps, he had the use of "slaves."  

But then Prabowo caught himself.

Boasting about "slaves" was not advisable.

He corrected, in good American idiom: "Well, not really slaves -- gofers."

He complained that as we spoke, in 2001, he was short of money: "I am not rich."

Prabowo said "I have 15 servants.  Maybe you really only need 3."

-----



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Sunday, July 6, 2014

Reddit AMA Tonight, WIB

I will be doing a Reddit AMA tonight, Jakarta time, starting at 8:00 pm.  

See the Indonesian subreddit/sub forum at www.reddit.com/r/indonesia .

That's Monday evening (malam Selasa), July 7, 8:00 pm WIB (Waktu Indonesia Barat), which is 9:00 am US eastern time.

Allan Nairn


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SIKAP KELUARGA KH ABDURRAHMAN WAHID MENGENAI KONTROVERSI WAWANCARA BP. PRABOWO SUBIANTO YANG DIANGGAP HINA GUS DUR


Siaran Pers

SIKAP KELUARGA KH ABDURRAHMAN WAHID MENGENAI KONTROVERSI WAWANCARA BP. PRABOWO SUBIANTO YANG DIANGGAP HINA GUS DUR

Siaran Pers

Beberapa waktu terakhir ini, media massa ramai memberitakan komentar mengenai KH Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) yang disebut-sebut telah dilontarkan oleh Bapak Prabowo Subianto dalam wawancara oleh Sdr. Allan Nairn pada tahun 2001.

Pernyataan ini menjadi sebuah kontroversi publik, utamanya karena muncul di dalam suasana bangsa Indonesia yang sangat dinamis pada proses puncak perhelatan demokrasi di Indonesia, yaitu Pemilihan Presiden 2014.

Sehubungan dengan situasi tersebut:

1. Keluarga Gus Dur telah berjumpa dan berdiskusi dengan Sdr. Allan Nairn selaku pewawancara dan penulis artikel, untuk mendapatkan informasi yang lebih lengkap mengenai konteks komentar mengenai Gus Dur dalam wawancara tersebut. Dari pertemuan ini kami menyimpulkan bahwa komentar tersebut diutarakan dalam pembahasan mengenai tidak siapnya bangsa Indonesia terhadap demokrasi di negara ini.

2. Berlandaskan prinsip keadilan, dan demi menjaga agar situasi ini tidak berkembang menjadi fitnah publik berkepanjangan, kami membuka komunikasi dan mengharapkan klarifikasi dari Bapak Prabowo Subianto mengenai pernyataan yang sudah menjadi polemik publik ini.

3. Apabila pernyataan Bapak Prabowo Subianto dalam wawancara tersebut benar adanya, walaupun dilontarkan dalam konteks pembahasan mengenai demokrasi di Indonesia, maka kami sangat menyesalkan pernyataan tersebut. Sebagai tokoh nasional, kami berharap Bapak Prabowo mampu meneladankan sikap non-diskriminatif kepada siapapun warga bangsa tanpa menilik perbedaan fisik. Begitu pun sikap menghormati pemimpin bangsa yang terpilih oleh rakyat melalui mekanisme demokratis, siapapun ia.

4. Pernyataan bernada merendahkan terhadap Gus Dur tersebut menjadi kontras dengan masifnya penggunaan figur Gus Dur dalam kampanye yang dilakukan oleh pendukung Bapak Prabowo Subianto selama ini di seluruh penjuru Indonesia.

5. Para pecinta Gus Dur dan sebagian besar masyarakat Indonesia lainnya telah mendesak kami untuk mencapai sikap dan penyelesaian akhir dalam merespons persoalan ini.

6. Kami meminta masyarakat untuk menahan diri dari sikap emosional dan reaktif terhadap persoalan ini, mengingat persoalan sensitif ini muncul dalam suasana puncak kampanye Pemilihan Presiden 2014. Kita seyogyanya mengedepankan prinsip dialog untuk menggali kebenaran, sebagaimana selalu diteladankan oleh guru kita Al-Maghfurlah Gus Dur.

Demikian pernyataan keluarga KH Abdurrahman Wahid dalam mensikapi kontroversi yang berkembang terkait pernyataan dari Bapak Prabowo Subianto pada tahun 2001 mengenai ayahanda kami Gus Dur.

Semoga peristiwa ini menjadi bahan pelajaran bagi kita semua untuk selalu menjaga sikap ksatrya dan menghargai perbedaan pandangan tanpa bersikap merendahkan orang lain.

Jakarta, 5 Juli 2014

Atas nama keluarga KH Abdurrahman Wahid

Hj. Sinta Nuriyah A. Wahid

Alissa Qotrunnada Munawaroh (Alissa Wahid)

Zannuba Arifah Chafsoh (Yenny Wahid)

Anita Hayatunnufus (Anita Wahid)

Inayah Wulandari (Inayah Wahid)


Kontak: 081215894308


NOTE TO READERS: News and Comment is looking for assistance with translating blog postings into other languages, and also with fund raising and distributing the blog content more widely. Those interested please get in touch via the e-mail link below. NOTE TO READERS RE. TRANSLATION: Portions of News and Comment are now available in Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, French, German, Russian and Spanish translation (click preceding links or Profile link above) but translation help is still needed -- particularly with older postings, in these and all other languages. NOTE TO READERS RE. POTENTIAL EVIDENCE: News and Comment is looking for public and private documents and first-hand information that could develop into evidence regarding war crimes or crimes against humanity by officials. Please forward material via the email link below. Email Me

Ancaman Dari Kopassus, Konfirmasi Dari Intel. Informasi Terbaru Tentang Operasi Senyap Untuk Memenangkan Prabowo

Tengah malam (WIB), saya menerima telpon dari seseorang yang baru saja diancam karena Kopasus secara keliru percaya bahwa ia telah membantu saya.

Orang itu diberitahu bahwa komandan Kopassus "sangat murka" kepadanya dan bahwa ia telah "merugikan negara."

Ia langsung mengungsi keluar kota.

Kopassus rupanya cemas karena sabtu lalu saya melaporkan bahwa mereka dan BIN terlibat dalam operasi senyap dengan mencurangi bilik suara, kekerasan, dan cara-cara lain untuk menjadikan Prabowo presiden.

Malam ini juga muncul kabar bahwa seorang angota BIN telah membenarkan informasi tersebut.

Menurut hukum Indonesia, Kopassus dan BIN tidak diperbolehkan mempengaruhi pemilihan umum.

Pencoblosan akan diadakan pada hari rabu, 9 Juli. 



NOTE TO READERS: News and Comment is looking for assistance with translating blog postings into other languages, and also with fund raising and distributing the blog content more widely. Those interested please get in touch via the e-mail link below. NOTE TO READERS RE. TRANSLATION: Portions of News and Comment are now available in Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, French, German, Russian and Spanish translation (click preceding links or Profile link above) but translation help is still needed -- particularly with older postings, in these and all other languages. NOTE TO READERS RE. POTENTIAL EVIDENCE: News and Comment is looking for public and private documents and first-hand information that could develop into evidence regarding war crimes or crimes against humanity by officials. Please forward material via the email link below. Email Me

Special Forces Threaten, Intel Man Confirms. An Update on the Covert Operation to Make Gen. Prabowo President.

At midnight (WIB) I received a call from a man who has just been threatened because Kopassus mistakenly believes that he is helping me.

The man was told that the Kopassus commander is "very angry" at him and that he has "done harm to the state."  


He immediately left the city.

Kopassus is apparently upset that on Saturday I reported that they and the state intelligence agency (BIN) are engaged in a covert operation to use ballot tampering, violence and other means to make General Prabowo president.

Also this evening, word came through that a BIN man has confirmed the story.

It is illegal under Indonesian law for Kopassus or BIN to influence elections.

The vote for president will be held on Wednesday, July 9.


Allan Nairn



Link ke versi Bahasa Indonesia
Link to "Breaking News: Indonesian Special Forces, Intelligence, in Covert Operation to Influence Election"

Link ke "Breaking News: Operasi Rahasia Kopassus dan BIN Untuk Mempengaruhi Hasil Pemilu"


NOTE TO READERS: News and Comment is looking for assistance with translating blog postings into other languages, and also with fund raising and distributing the blog content more widely. Those interested please get in touch via the e-mail link below. NOTE TO READERS RE. TRANSLATION: Portions of News and Comment are now available in Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, French, German, Russian and Spanish translation (click preceding links or Profile link above) but translation help is still needed -- particularly with older postings, in these and all other languages. NOTE TO READERS RE. POTENTIAL EVIDENCE: News and Comment is looking for public and private documents and first-hand information that could develop into evidence regarding war crimes or crimes against humanity by officials. Please forward material via the email link below. Email Me

Saturday, July 5, 2014

Breaking News: Operasi Rahasia Kopassus dan BIN Untuk Mempengaruhi Hasil Pemilu

5 Juli 2014
Oleh Allan Nairn
Jakarta

Kopassus dan Badan Intelijen Negara (BIN) terlibat dalam operasi rahasia guna mempengaruhi pemilihan presiden.

Menurut laporan-laporan yang terdokumentasikan tentang pertemuan-pertemuan di markas Kopassus belakangan ini, operasi tersebut dirancang untuk menjamin kemenangan Jenderal Prabowo pada 9 Juli. Prabowo Subianto sempat lama menjadi orang binaan Pentagon dan intelijen AS.

Survey-survey menunjukkan, Prabowo kini bersaing ketat dengan lawannya yang sipil, gubernur Jakarta Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

Prabowo dan Jokowi dijadwalkan berdebat di televisi untuk terakhir kalinya sebelum hari pencoblosan.

Pemilihan umum di negara kepulauan ini, dan di tengah diaspora global masyarakat indonesia, diperkirakan merupakan kedua yang paling besar di tahun ini. Nomor satu ditempati oleh pemilu India yang diselenggarakan Mei lalu.

Prabowo terlibat dalam kasus-kasus pembunuhan warga sipil dan penyiksaan. Meskipun kini memasang pose nasionalis tulen, karirnya di militer dihabiskan untuk bekerjasama dengan DIA (Badan Intelijen Pertahanan AS) dan pejabat-pejabat tingkat tinggi Amerika. Ia pun pernah membawa masuk Pasukan Khusus AS bersenjata lengkap ke wilayah Indonesia. 

Prabowo telah menyerukan agar hak rakyat Indonesia untuk memilih dalam pemilihan langsung (direct vote) dicabut. Ia menjelaskan bahwa hal ini akan dilakukan setelah musyawarah dengan "elit-elit politik."  

Dalam dua obrolan off-the-record bersama saya, Prabowo mengatakan Indonesia "belum siap untuk demokrasi." Ia katakan bahwa presiden waktu itu, Gus Dur, seorang ulama populer dari kalangan sipil, "bikin malu" Indonesia karena buta. Prabowo menyesalkan angkatan bersenjata yang tunduk pada Gus Dur dan bicara panjang lebar tentang masa depan politik dirinya. "Apa saya cukup punya nyali," tanya Prabowo, "Apa saya punya nyali untuk disebut diktator fasis?"

Rangkaian laporan dan komentar saya tentang Jenderal Prabowo telah menjadi isu dalam pemilu kali ini. 

[Tim] Kampanye Prabowo menuding saya "musuh bangsa" dan menghimbau agar militer menangkap saya. Angkatan bersenjata telah menyatakan bahwa saya telah "menjadi target operasional." Kamis pekan ini Prabowo berpidato, memohon agar rakyat Indonesia mengabaikan laporan-laporan saya tentang dirinya hanya karena saya orang asing. 

Laporan-laporan di bawah ini datang dari orang-orang yang terlibat dalam operasi BIN/Kopassus. Mereka berbicara kepada saya secara anonim.

Laporan mengenai rapat-rapat di markas Kopassus di Cijantung datang dari sumber-sumber yang hadir dalam rapat-rapat tersebut.

Panggilan telepon dari saya pada tanggal 4 Juli untuk meminta komentar Jenderal Prabowo tidak dijawab. Saya menelpon ke nomor telepon genggam yang pernah saya kontak saat menghubungi Prabowo sebelumnya.

----

Markas Kopassus di Cijantung, Jakarta Timur, adalah sebuah tempat yang terkenal di Indonesia. 

Di tempat inilah para aktivis pro-demokrasi diculik oleh Kopassus (yang saat itu dimimpin Prabowo), disiksa, dan rupanya-rupanya dieksekusi pada tahun 1997-98. Ketika itu terjadi perlawanan besar-besaran terhadap mertua Jenderal Prabowo, yakni Suharto, seorang diktator yang dibekingi AS. 

Tiga belas dari keseluruhan korban penculikan hingga kini masih hilang dan diduga telah meninggal. Salah satu pimpinan tim kampanye Prabowo, Jenderal Kivlan Zen, menyatakan bahwa dirnya mengetahui di mana mayat mereka dikuburkan. 

Cijantung juga merupakan situs pelatihan Kopassus yang diselenggarakan AS. Ke tempat ini pula para pejabat AS sering berkunjung. Selama Prabowo masih menjabat, sejumlah nama jenderal, Panglima Pasifik (CINCPAC) dan Sekretaris Pertahanan, tertulis dalam buku tamu. 

Pada suatu hari dalam pekan ini (sumber-sumber terlibat minta agar saya tidak menyebut tanggalnya), para agen senior Kopassus mengadakan rapat di Cijantung pada malam hari. 

Topik pembicaraannya adalah operasi rahasia untuk menjadikan Prabowo Presiden. 

Diantara hadirin adalah sejumlah veteran operasi-operasi rahasia di Aceh dan Papua Barat. 

Sang komandan-pimpinan memulai rapat dengan mengatakan "Kamu nyantai aja, kita udah kerja, teman-teman udah kerja semua dan kita menang — Kopassus dan orangnya Prabowo, kita menang."

Mereka menyebutnya "operasi khusus" yang dilakukan oleh "pasukan khusus ini."

Kendati sifatnya luar biasa--mencurangi pemilu sipil untuk memenangkan salah satu kandidat--sang komandan menyebut operasi tersebut sebagai perpanjangan (extension) dari taktik lumrah "operasi a la Kopassus".

Menurut seorang peserta rapat, operasi ini dimulai setelah pemilu legislatif April lalu, ketika Prabowo dan Jokowi keluar sebagai dua kandidat presiden.  

Menurut aturan hukum Indonesia, angkatan bersenjata dan badan-badan intelijen harus mengambil sikap netral. 

Anggota aktif TNI bahkan tidak punya hak untuk memilih.

Presiden Indonesia saat ini, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono,  adalah seorang jenderal pensiunan. Susilo juga bekas atasan Prabowo.

Susilo secara teknis netral dalam pemilihan ini, walaupun baru-baru ini dia memberi sinyal bekingan ke Prabowo. 

Menurut bahasan rapat tersebut dan rapat-rapat lainnya, dan menurut pihak-pihak yang terlibat, operasi rahasia ini akan melibatkan kecurangan di bilik suara (ballot tampering), aksi kekerasan jalanan, ancaman terhadap pendukung Jokowi, dan jika perlu "menghabisi orang."

Operasi tersebut juga melibatkan tindakan-tindakan berskala lebih kecil, termasuk oleh pihak-pihak yang terpancing--dalam pandangan mereka--fakta bahwa artikel saya yang mengutip cercaan Prabowo terhadap Gus Dur telah menjadi isu di akar rumput. 

Minggu lalu ketika saya mengeluarkan artikel tersebut, muncul spanduk-spanduk di jalanan yang menampilkan foto  Gus Dur berjejer dengan kutipan Prabowo yang berbunyi: 

"Militer pun bahkan tunduk pada presiden buta! Bayangkan! Coba lihat dia, bikin malu saja!" 

Menurut seorang agen, "soal spanduk itu sangat ditakuti di dalam [pimpinan tim Kopassus/BIN], sangat merugikan." 

Akibatnya, orang-orang berkendaraan sepeda motor Kopasus diperintahan untuk melepas spanduk-spanduk tersebut.

Namun demikian, bahwa Prabowo melecehkan Gus Dur masih dibahas hingga kini.

Kamis kemarin, sesuai permintaan mereka, saya bertemu dengan keluarga Gus Dur di Jakarta. (lihat "Regarding the Late Gus Dur," "Terkait Almarhum Gus Dur").

-----

Operasi Kopassus/BIN untuk mencurangi bilik suara--setidaknya menurut yang diketahui sumber-sumber saya--tidak menyasar tabulasi suara di pusat, melainkan penghitungan suara pada TPS-TPS yang terletak di unit-unit kecil pemerintahan setempat, dari kabupaten ke bawah (local precincts).

Operasi ini akan melibatkan pendistribusian uang terselubung (covert money) yang kini tengah berlangsung, "uang itu tidak kelihatan, uang di pinggir jalan."

Uang tersebut (sebagian besar dalam bentuk uang kontan) digunakan untuk "main dengan kertas suara", dengan menempatkan agen di dalam ruang-ruang penghitungan suara atau membayar pegawai negeri yang akan mengawal kotak suara. 

Upaya ini khususnya difokuskan di Jawa Tengah, Bawat dan Timur, namun katanya akan berlangsung pula di sejumlah tempat di seluruh provinsi.

Menurut para peserta rapat, uang ini didistribusikan lewat Kopassus dan BIN, namun sumber utama dari dana ini masih rahasia, "sangat tertutup sumbernya dari mana".

Menurut pihak-pihak yang terlibat, operasi rahasia ini dijalankan oleh para komandan senior. Untuk Kopassus sendiri, mereka sebetulnya belum yakin akan peranan komandan Kopassus, Jenderal Agus Sutomo. Namun, seperti yang diklaim dalam salah satu rapat di Cijantung, persetujuan tersebut datang dari Presiden, Jenderal Susilo, sebagai "perintah langsung" yang turun dalam minggu-minggu terakhir ini, dan bahwa koordinasi operasi--di luar rantai komando--berasal dari Prabowo.

(Prabowo sebenarnya dipecat dari militer setelah kalah dari perebutan kekuasaan pada tahun 1998. Jenderal Susilo adalah salah satu dari para  jenderal yang menandatangani perintah pemecatan tersebut).

Meski demikian, dalam kasus BIN, kepala BIN saat ini, Marciano Norman, dikatakan terlibat penuh (fully on board) dalam operasi tersebut. Marciano dekat dengan Aburizal Bakrie, seorang oligark dan pendukung Prabowo. 

BIN memiliki hubungan dengan CIA. Namun masih belum jelas--sama sekali--bagaimana CIA berhubungan dengan operasi ini.

----

Banyak orang Indonesia menyatakan kekhawatiran mereka bahwa pemilu kali ini akan berlangsung dengan kekerasan.

Operasi Kopassus/BIN diam-diam telah melakukan kekerasan atas nama kubu Prabowo.

Diantara mereka yang berada di ruang rapat Cijantung itu adalah para organizer berlatar belakang agen sipil yang mendapat tugas dari Kopassus untuk membuat "ribut di bawah."

Beberapa peserta rapat mengaku telah memancing massa bayaran untuk menyerang pertemuan-pertemuan pro-Jokowi dan lainnya. Mereka bekerjasama dengan milisi-milisi jalanan milik Prabowo yang telah mendapat pelatihan di Bogor. Beberapa unit serupa digambarkan "..sudah berlatih, [dan] sering merampok di mana mana."

Taktik yang sering dipakai Kopassus/BIN ini ditambah lagi dengan pendekatan baku lainnya: telepon dan sms anonim yang mengancam sasaran yang dituju atau orang-orang terdekat mereka dengan kematian, atau hal yang lebih buruk dari itu. 

Pada kenyataannya, sebuah buku panduan lama Kopassus yang bocor ke publik telah secara resmi menyebutkan keberadaan taktik ini. Panduan itu menyatakan: anggota Kopassus harus terlatih menggunakan "taktik dan teknik teror."

Terkait pelaksanaan ancaman-ancaman tersebut, pembunuhan politik yang dilakukan Kopassus memiliki sejarah yang panjang. BIN dikenal dengan teknik-tekniknya yang rumit, misalnya arsenik yang digunakan untuk membunuh Munir. 

Namun, pembunuhan politik dalam pemilihan tingkat nasional adalah urusan sensitif. Dalam salah satu rapat di Cijantung, dinyatakan bahwa dulu jika situasi bertambah buruk, mereka akan "ambil orang, habisi orang", seperti yang dilakukan Kopassus di bawah pimpinan Prabowo selama krisis tahun 1997-98.


Namun sekarang keadaannya berbeda. Pelaku operasi senyap harus memiliki sensitivitas politik. Seorang peserta rapat berkomentar terkait sejumlah target, "[orang] bisa melukai", tapi mungkin tidak membunuh mereka. 

Lebih ke pokok persoalan, dalam sebuah rapat muncul satu pernyataan menyangkut pembunuhan: "Paling tidak, dalam kondisi ini, [orang-orang top] dari kubu [Jokowi], jangan." Namun buat "karyawan kecil [Jokowi], entah--nggak apa-apa."

Kebijakan ini nyaris paralel dengan apa yang dikatakan Prabowo kepada saya di tahun 2001 tentang pembantaian massal: jangan lakukan [pembantaian] di ibukota, di depan para saksi, "tapi di desa-desa di mana tak seorang pun tahu."(Lihat: "Do I have the guts," Prabowo asked, "am I ready to be called a fascist dictator?").

Mengacu pada perencanaan kemungkinan pembunuhan/penganiayaan  dalam waktu dekat ini, salah seorang komandan Kopassus di Cijantung mengatakan: "Orang sipil tidak bisa, hanya kopasus yang bisa."

Pernyataan ini mengacu pada fakta bahwa banyak dari kerja-kerja operasi di lapangan dilakukan oleh orang-orang sipil yang secara rahasia bekerja sebagai agen Kopassus paruh waktu/tetap. 

Pada tanggal 9 November 2010, saya mengeluarkan dokumen-dokumen Kopassus yang diantaranya meliputi daftar aktivis yang ditarget Kopassus di Papua. Dokumen-dokumen tersebut juga merinci jaringan agen sipil Kopassus di tempat yang sama. 

Menurut data-data personil Kopassus yang saya laporkan saat itu, jejaring agen sipil Kopassus meliputi "reporter suratkabar lokal dan stasiun-stasiun televisi nasional, mahasiswa, staf hotel, seorang pegawai pengadilan, seorang pegawai negeri sipil yang bekerja di bidang seni dan budaya, seorang anak usia 14 tahun ... petani [lebih dari satu]. buruh [lebih dari satu] ... sopir ojek, [dan] seorang penjaga kios pula yang mengawasi orang-orang yang membeli SIM card, serta seorang sopir yang bekerja pada sebuah perusahaan rental mobil..."

Dengan jejaring seperti ini, Kopassus memiliki posisi yang nyaman untuk mengintai--dan bertindak melawan--orang-orang yang menarik perhatian mereka dalam pemilihan yang akan berlangsung pekan depan dan di waktu-waktu pasca-pilpres.


-----


Link ke versi Bahasa Inggris


Link ke "Special Forces Threaten, Intel Man Confirms. An Update on the Covert Operation to Make Gen. Prabowo President."

Link ke "Ancaman Dari Kopassus, Konfirmasi Dari Intel.  Informasi Terbaru Tentang Operasi Senyap Untuk Memenangkan Prabowo"

Link ke "'Do I have the guts,' Prabowo asked, 'am I ready to be called a fascist dictator?'"
Link ke "'Apa saya cukup punya nyali,' tanya Prabowo, 'apa saya siap jika disebut 'diktator fasis'?"
Link ke "A Response and Several Challenges to General Prabowo"
Link ke "Tanggapan dan Beberapa Tantangan Saya untuk Jenderal Prabowo"
Link ke "Regarding the Late Gus Dur"
Link ke "Terkait Almarhum Gus Dur"
Link ke "Prabowo, Part 2: "'I was the Americans' fair-haired boy.'  The Nationalist General and the United States"
Link ke "Prabowo, Bagian 2: 'Saya anak kesayangan Amerika.'  Sang Jenderal Nasionalis dan Amerika Serikat."
Link ke "General Prabowo Retreats"
Link ke "Jenderal Prabowo Mundur"


NOTE TO READERS: News and Comment is looking for assistance with translating blog postings into other languages, and also with fund raising and distributing the blog content more widely. Those interested please get in touch via the e-mail link below. NOTE TO READERS RE. TRANSLATION: Portions of News and Comment are now available in Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, French, German, Russian and Spanish translation (click preceding links or Profile link above) but translation help is still needed -- particularly with older postings, in these and all other languages. NOTE TO READERS RE. POTENTIAL EVIDENCE: News and Comment is looking for public and private documents and first-hand information that could develop into evidence regarding war crimes or crimes against humanity by officials. Please forward material via the email link below. Email Me

Breaking News: Indonesian Special Forces, Intelligence, in Covert Operation to Influence Election

July 5, 2014

By Allan Nairn
Jakarta


Indonesia's army special forces (Kopassus) and the state intelligence agency (BIN) are involved in a covert operation to influence the presidential election.


According to documented accounts of recent meetings at Kopassus headquarters, the operation is designed to ensure that the July 9 vote count will be won by General Prabowo Subianto, the former Kopassus commander who was a longtime protege of the Pentagon and US intelligence.


Polls suggest that General Prabowo is currently running neck-and-neck with his civilian opponent, Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, the governor of Jakarta.

Prabowo and Jokowi are scheduled to face off in their final televised debate this evening.

The vote across the archipelago and the Indonesian global diaspora is expected to be the second-largest in the world this year.  The largest was completed last May in India.

Prabowo has been implicated in killing civilians and in torture.   Though currently running as an ardent nationalist, he spent his army career in collaboration with the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and with top US leadership, as well as with US Special Forces whom he brought, armed, into Indonesia.

Prabowo has called for rolling back Indonesians' right to vote in direct elections.   He has suggested that this be done after consultation with "the political elite."

In two off-the-record 2001 discussions with me Prabowo said Indonesia "is not ready for democracy."  He said that the country's then-president, the popular civilian Muslim cleric Gus Dur, was an "embarrass[ment]" to Indonesia because Gus Dur was legally blind.  Prabowo lamented that the army obeyed Gus Dur, and mused about his own political future.  "Do I have the guts," Prabowo asked himself, "am I ready to be called a fascist dictator?"

My reporting and commentary about General Prabowo has become an issue in this election.

The Prabowo campaign denounced me as "an enemy of the nation" and suggested the army should capture me.  The armed forces stated I have "become an operational target."  General Prabowo himself gave a speech on Thursday in which he implored Indonesia's poor to discount my reporting about him because I am a foreigner.

The accounts below come from individuals who are involved in the Kopassus/BIN operation.  They spoke to me on condition of anonymity.

The accounts of meetings at Kopassus headquarters in Cijantung come from sources who were present.

A July 4 call for comment to General Prabowo went unanswered.  The call was made to a private cell phone number through which I have contacted Prabowo previously.

-----

The Kopassus headquarters in Cijantung, East Jakarta, is a famous venue in Indonesia.

It is the site where pro-democracy activists who were kidnapped by Prabowo's Kopassus were tortured and, apparently, executed, in 1997-'98. This was during uprising against General Prabowo's father-in-law, the US-backed dictator, General Suharto.

Thirteen of those abductees are still missing, presumed dead.  One of Prabowo's top campaigners (Gen. Kivlan Zein) says he knows where the bodies are buried.

Cijantung is also one of the sites of US training of Kopassus, and of numerous visits to Kopassus by US dignitaries.  Under Prabowo these included generals, Commanders in Chief  Pacific(CINCPACs), and Secretaries of Defense.

On a date this week which the sources involved have asked that I not specify, senior Kopassus operatives held a nighttime meeting at Cijantung.

The topic was a covert operation to make Prabowo president.

Among those present were veterans of covert ops in Aceh and West Papua.

The lead commander started the session by saying "You just relax.  We've all worked, friends have worked, and we've won -- Kopassus and Prabowo's people, we've won."  ("Kamu nyantai aja, kita udah kerja, teman-teman udah kerja semua dan kita menang -- Kopassus dan orangnya Prabowo, kita menang").

They referred to it as a "special operation" ("operas khusus") by "this special force" ("pasukan khusus ini").

Although it is extraordinary -- stealing a civilian election for one of the candidates, the commander referred to it as an extension of normal special forces tactics "an operation 'a la Kopassus.'" ("operasi 'a la Kopassus').

According to a participant, the operation started after Indonesia's legislative elections in April when Prabowo and Jokowi emerged as the two presidential candidates.

Under Indonesian law, the armed forces and intelligence agencies must be neutral.  


Active members of the armed forces, the TNI, do not even have the right to vote.

The current president of Indonesia is another retired general, Prabowo's former superior, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Susilo has been technically neutral in the election, though he has sent recent public signals that he is backing Prabowo.

According to the contents of this and other meetings and to those directly involved, the operation involves ballot tampering, street violence, and threats against Jokowi supporters, and could involve, in extremis, "the elimination of people" ("habisi orang") if need be.

It also involves lesser actions, including those necessitated by -- in their view -- the fact that my article quoting Prabowo insulting Gus Dur has become a grassroots issue.

Last week, after I released the article, banners began appearing on the streets juxtaposing a photo of the well-remembered Gus Dur alongside the Prabowo quotation:

"The military even obeys a blind president!  Imagine!  Look at him, he's embarrassing!  Look at Tony Blair, Bush, Putin.  Young, ganteng [handsome] -- and we have a blind man!"

According to one operative, the Gus Dur banner matter, "really frightened, really hurt" ("soal spanduk itu sangat takuti di dalam, sangat buat mereka ini merugikan…")  the Kopassus/BIN team leadership.

So street men with Kopassus motorcycles have been assigned to go out and yank down those Gus Dur banners.

The issue, nonetheless, still stands.

This past Thursday, at their request, I met in Jakarta with the Gus Dur family.  (See "Regarding the Late Gus Dur," "Terkait Almarhum Gus Dur").

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The ballot tampering part of the Kopassus/ BIN operation -- at least as discussed at the level my sources know of, does not involve the national central vote tabulation, but rather the count in key local precincts.

It involves the ongoing deployment of covert money, "money that is not seen, money from the side of the road" ("uang itu tidak kelihatan, uang di pinggir jalan").

The purpose of that money, almost all in cash, is to "play with the ballot papers" ("main dengan kertas suara") by placing agents inside counting rooms or paying off state employees who guard the ballot boxes.

This effort is particularly concentrated in Central, West, and East Java, but is said to involve parts of all provinces.

According to participants, the money is being distributed via Kopassus and BIN, but the ultimate source of the funds is a secret,"very closed" matter ("sangat tertutup sumbernya dari mana").

According to those involved, the operation is being run by senior commanders.  In the case of Kopassus, they are actually unsure of the role of top Kopassus commander, General Agus Sutomo, but it was claimed at one Cijantung meeting that approval had come from the President, General Susilo, as "a direct order" ("perintah langsung") in recent weeks, and that operational coordination was coming -- outside the chain of command -- from Prabowo.

(Prabowo was actually fired from the army after he lost a '98 power struggle.  Gen. Susilo was one of the generals who signed the order that removed him).

In the case of BIN, though, the current BIN commander, ex army general Marciano Norman, is said to fully on board with the operation.  Marciano is close to Aburizal Bakrie, the oligarch and Prabowo supporter.

BIN has a relationship with the CIA.  But it is not clear how, if at all, the CIA relates to this.

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Many Indonesians have stated their worry that this election could involve violence.

The Kopassus/BIN operation has quietly started deploying it on Prabowo's side.

Among those in the room at some Cijantung meetings were organizers of civilian agents whose task from Kopassus is to "ribut di bawah," make trouble from below

Some participants spoke of personally leading paid crowds that attacked and broke up pro-Jokowi or other gatherings.  They have worked with private Prabowo street militias that have gotten training in Bogor.  Some such units are described as "having been trained, and frequently rob/ plunder wherever" ("..sudah berlatih, [dan] sering merampok ke mana mana").

This often-used Kopassus/ BIN tactic has supplemented another standard approach: anonymous calls and text messages threatening the target or their loved ones with death, or worse.  An old leaked Kopassus training manual actually refers to this formally, saying that Kopassus men must be trained "in the tactic and technique of terror."

As to carrying through on those threats, Kopassus political murder has a long history.  BIN is known for its elaborate technique, like the arsenic used to kill Munir.

But assassination in a national election is a sensitive matter.  At one of the Cijantung meetings it was stated that if worse came to worse they might have to "take people, finish people off" ("ambil orang, habisi orang"), as General Prabowo's Kopassus did during the '97-'98 crisis.

But today it is a different world.  Covert operators must be politically sensitive.   One made the comment regarding some targets, "one can wound them," ("bisa melukai"), perhaps not kill them.

But more to the point, it was stated at one session, regarding killing: "under current conditions, people from the [Jokowi] top ranks, don't" ("paling tidak, dalam kondisi ini, dari kubu [Jokowi], jangan."  But as to "small [Jokowi] employees -- who knows?  It's nothing to worry about." ("karyawan kecil -- entah, nggak apa-apa.").

This policy closely parallels what Prabowo told me about massacre, in 2001:  don't do it in a capital, in front of witnesses, but "in villages where no one will ever know." (See: "Do I have the guts," Prabowo asked, "am I ready to be called a fascist dictator?").

Referring to planning for these possible upcoming killings/ woundings, one of the Kopassus Cijantung commanders said:  "orang sipil tidak bisa, hanya Kopassus yang bisa" -- civilians will not be handling them, "only Kopassus."

This is a reference to the fact that much of the operational work on the ground is being done by civilians who covertly work as full or part-time Kopassus agents.

On November 9, 2010 I released secret Kopassus documents that, among other things, included a list of activists targeted by Kopassus, but which also detailed the network of Kopassus civilian agents, in that case in West Papua.

Based on Kopassus personnel files I reported at that time that the web of agents included: politicians, "reporters for a local newspaper and for a national TV news channel, students, hotel staff, a court employee, a senior civil servant who works on art and culture, a 14 year old child…farmer[s]… worker[s] … a motorcycle taxi driver, [and] a cellphone kiosk clerk who watches people who buy SIM card numbers, and a driver for a car rental company…"

With networks such as this,  Kopassus is in good position to watch -- and act against -- people of interest to them in this upcoming election and its aftermath.

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Link to Bahasa Indonesia translation


Link to "Special Forces Threaten, Intel Man Confirms. An Update on the Covert Operation to Make Gen. Prabowo President."
Link ke "Ancaman Dari Kopassus, Konfirmasi Dari Intel.  Informasi Terbaru Tentang Operasi Senyap Untuk Memenangkan Prabowo"

Link to "'Do I have the guts,' Prabowo asked, 'am I ready to be called a fascist dictator?'"
Link to "'Apa saya cukup punya nyali,' tanya Prabowo, 'apa saya siap jika disebut 'diktator fasis'?"
Link to "A Response and Several Challenges to General Prabowo"
Link to "Tanggapan dan Beberapa Tantangan Saya untuk Jenderal Prabowo"
Link to "Regarding the Late Gus Dur"
Link to "Terkait Almarhum Gus Dur"
Link to "Prabowo, Part 2: "'I was the Americans' fair-haired boy.'  The Nationalist General and the United States"
Link to "Prabowo, Bagian 2: 'Saya anak kesayangan Amerika.'  Sang Jenderal Nasionalis dan Amerika Serikat."
Link to "General Prabowo Retreats"
Link to "Jenderal Prabowo Mundur"


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