Cerita ini nggak mesti bener lho!
------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
Date sent: Tue, 8 Aug 2000 14:41:21 -0600 (MDT)
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [INDONESIA-L] SEMPER FI - Info on the May 98 Incident in
Jakarta
From: "semper fidelis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: The x-factor : some info on may 98 incident in Jakarta
Date: Tue, 08 Aug 2000 18:51:18 GMT
Just in, the details are fuzzy, but the sources are very credible.
Back in May 98, when Jakarta was literally burning, the Navy Chief of Staff,
Adm. Arief Kushariadi, was on his way for some pre-scheduled trip using the
Navy helicopter. As he was flying over Jakarta, he could not help noticing
the movement of rioters on the ground and the fires they started. He was
amazed that he could not see any sizeable force of security personnel to
oppose the rampaging rioters. He assessed the situation that strategic
places such as the presidential palace had not been completely secured by
sizeable military units visible from the air.
Being in a separate chain of command (thus he had no control of any Army or
Police units), and thinking that Jakarta was in danger, he immediately
contacted the Commander of Marines 2nd Infantry Brigade based in Cilandak,
Jakarta. Adm. Kushariadi inquired of available forces that the 2nd Marine
Brigade could move at that instant. To his surprise, the Brigade commander
replied that he had none. All of his available forces had been BKO-ed to
KODAM Jaya and they were already fielded when Adm. Kushariadi reached him
over the radio. This even include all sombat support personnel, artilery and
cavalry. The marines had a battalion of cavalry (amphibious PT-76 tanks and
BTR-50 amphibious Armored Personnel Vehicle) in Cilandak. However, they
remained in their base with nobody left to operate them.
Unbeknownst to the Admiral, the Marines based in Cilandak Jakarta had been
involved in a plot engineered by Prabowo and his clicks. Prabowo had
realized that the Marines was the only military unit that was able to
contest his Kopassus in combat. He happens to be a good friend of Maj. Gen.
Suharto, the Marine Corps Commandant at the time, when they shared quarters
during SESKOGAB in Bandung a few years before. When Prabowo was in charge of
Kopassus, he tried to bring the two corps closer together. Having almost
unlimited source of funding (thanks to the support he enjoyed from Cendana),
Prabowo not only beefed up his Kopassus but he also sent some contributions
to the Marines, commanded then by his old roommate, Maj. Gen. Suharto. After
living as a step son for more than three decades, the Marines received
Prabowo contribution with a warm feeling. However, Maj. Gen. Suharto was
aware of some moves from Prabowo that might follow the contributions.
It did come in 1997, when Prabowo proposed "to better integrate" Kopassus
and the Marine corps. How ? By interchanging personnel between the two
Corps. He wanted to have some Kopassus men in every Marine Unit and to be
part of the unit during the operation. Maj. Gen. Suharto flatly refused this
proposal. Politely, he explained to Prabowo that the Marine has a different
doctrine from its counterparts in Kopassus. The Indonesian Marine (owing to
much similarities to the USMC) follow the doctrine as a professional combat
unit. They never did nor wish to ever raise their weapons against their own
coutrymen. The marines subscribes to a frontal type combat style where the
objective is as clearly defined as the identity of the enemy. When the
Marines are landing on the beach, they must assume that the beach was part
of Indonesian soil invaded by some foreign enemies. So "mendarat dan menang"
just simply does not apply to the Indonesian Army doctrines.
Knowing that he could not influence the neutrality and professionalism of
the Marines, Prabowo decided that he should at least tied up all available
Marine Units in Jakarta area when his troops were to secure power from then
defunct government of President Suharto. He was able to do this because Maj.
Gen. Sjafrie Samsoeddin, the Commanding General of Kodam Jaya, was his old
friend from the Academy and part of his group. Samsoeddin cleverly ordered
the marines to stand guard at some less important locations far away from
the area being destroyed by rampaging rioters.
Now, back to Adm. Kushariadi. Realizing that there was no effective
military unit to protect the Jakarta, the prudent Admiral immediately raised
the Commander of the Marines 1st Infantry Brigade based in Karang Pilang,
Surabaya. Kushariadi ordered Surabaya to get ready one full infantry
battalion equipped for combat deployment (they did not have extensive PHH
equipments). He also ordered Surabaya to get ready all available tank and
panzer crews. Using all available planes belonging to the Navy fleet air arm
(including the Nomad & CASA 212), the admiral instructed the marine
battalion & its combat equipment to be flown in to Jakarta at all possible
speed. As you may have suspected, the Navy did not possess planes with heavy
load capacity, it took the small navy planes several sorties between
Jakarta-Surabaya to finally air lifted the entire marine battalion to Halim
Perdanakusuma air base in Jakarta.
As soon as the Surabaya marine battalion landed in Jakarta, Adm. Kushariadi
ordered the infantrymen to secure strategic locations including the
Presidential Palace area. The cavalry crew from Surabaya immediately started
and manned all available tanks and panzers still sitting in their hangars in
Cilandak. These tanks were then rolling into Jakarta street to join the
marine infantry already in location.
Adm. Kushariadi thought he had saved the city from total mayhem. Well, he
did, but unbeknownst to him, his action also foiled two opposing groups that
were just getting ready to launch a coup: Wiranto's group facing Prabowo's
group. Both Wiranto and Prabowo were cooking their own coup scenario. The
situation in Jakarta was intentionally brewed to allow the deployment of
combat troops in Jakarta using the riots as an excuse. While Wiranto and
Prabowo were cooking up strategy to beat their opponents, they forgot to
take into account the x-factor such as Adm. Kushariadi, who was totally
outside the plot and unaware of the coup plans from either side.
So, now Jakarta is in chaos, the army troops from both factions are ready.
But the arrival of a marine battalion from Surabaya, now supported with
tanks , (note that the marine tanks are better armored and more heavily
armed than those wheeled cavalry units fielded by Kodam Jaya) had rendered
both Wiranto & Prabowo's plan unexecutable without serious consequences. If
either Wiranto or Prabowo kept pressing forward with their coup plan, then
they will not only face the other army faction but also a battalion of
marines from Surabaya. Also, as soon as the three marine infantry battalions
from Cilandak, which were BKO-ed to KODAM, realized that their brothers from
Surabaya were here and there is a coup attempt in progress, then the full
Infantry Brigades would retract themselves from under the control of KODAM
Jaya and rejoined their original unit. Even under BKO, all marine field
commanders would certainly put the order coming from their Chief of Staff
(Adm. Kushariadi)and their own Brigade Commander much higher than orders
coming from KODAM Commanding General, Maj. Gen. Safrie Shamsoeddin.
Therefore, whoever wanted to press forward with their coup plan, they will
have to face the entire Marine 2nd Infantry Brigade with an additional extra
battalion from Surabaya. That is more than 4000 professional and very well
trained combat troops complete with their artilery and cavalry.
Some inside sources indicate that Wiranto replaced ADM. Kushariadi a few
months after the May Incidents because of what the Admiral did to save
Jakarta. Regardless of the outcome and consequences of his actions, Adm.
Kushariadi, the Marines, and the Indonesian Navy as a whole, had again made
their selfless contribution to the survival of the Republic. But as usual,
the Navy remained unnamed in the history pages of Indonesia. However, the
people of Indonesia had witnessed how their marines display a true sense of
military professionalism in the handling on various public unrest which
culminated in the Semanggi Incident in November 1998. If only the people of
Indonesia could find out the truth about May 1998 and the unparalleled role
played by their Marines and Navy in the recent struggle of their country
......
To all my marine brothers in Indonesia ..... Semper Fidelis !!!
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