April 20, 2007:
The U.S. has wants agreements
with Indonesia on how to coordinate military activities during disaster relief
and peacekeeping operations. These discussions are part of the renewal of
military cooperation, which was halted in 1999 because of Indonesian
involvement in East Timor atrocities. Meanwhile, China is offering to sell
Indonesia just about any weapons it wants, at good prices. China also wants to
establish military ties with Indonesia.
April 16, 2007: Some 200 additional police
were sent to a village in Sulawesi, where the murder of a fisherman sparked rioting
and the destruction of seven homes. People in Sulawesi are nervous about the
return of Islamic radicals, and calls for violence against
Christians.
April 15, 2007: More scary adventures with
Indonesian airlines. On April 12th India conducted a ballistic missile test,
with the missile landing in the Indian ocean. As is customary, they sent an
official warning to all nations that fly aircraft or move ships through the
area where the Indian missile would come down. It's the responsibility of the nations
getting those warnings, to issue official notices to their mariners and
airlines, to avoid the area where the missile will be landing. This is to
eliminate the very small chance that a ship or aircraft might get hit by the
missile. The Indonesian bureaucracy failed to issue the notice, and an
Indonesian airline pilot, who was flying an airliner in the area, saw the
Indian missile streaking into the atmosphere (in the distance), freaked out,
and returned to the Indonesian airport. Naturally, the Indonesians blame it all
on the Indians, claiming they never got a notice. Meanwhile, the U.S. has
advised its citizens to avoid flying on Indonesian airlines, which have some of
the worst safety records in the world. The Indonesians government has proved
remarkably inept in overseeing aviation safety, and shows no signs of changing.
Military aviation is no better off.
April 14, 2007: Two bombs exploded in
Sulawesi, the scene of frequent battles between Islamic militants and the half
of the population that is Christian. There were no injuries. One bomb went off
in an empty lot, the other in front of the home of a Christian.
April 11, 2007: The U.S. has revealed that
its interrogation of terrorist organization Jemaah Islamiah (JI) members it has
captured, indicates that JI had no formal relationship with al Qaeda. Any
connections between the two organizations were purely cosmetic and for
propaganda purposes.
April 10, 2007: In Aceh, an inmate gang
got control of the largest prisons in the province, and freed all 238
prisoners. But only 108 were willing to leave. The prisoners behind the escape
were apparently there on drug charges, as were most of the prisoners. The peace
deal with the separatist rebels has emptied the prisons of those held on
treason and rebellion charges.