Indonesia
Mine Ban Policy
Policy
The Republic of Indonesia signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997 and ratified it on 20 February 2007, becoming a State Party on 1 August 2007. Indonesia states that its Emergency Law No. 12/1951 on Fire Arms and Explosives provides for the imposition of penal sanctions as required by the treaty.[1] Previously a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said that the ministry has raised the possibility of new implementation legislation specifically for the Mine Ban Treaty in interagency meetings.[2] In March 2011, a Foreign Ministry official said this was still under review and asked for guidelines.[3]
Indonesia regularly attends meetings of the treaty, including the Third Review Conference in Maputo in June 2014, the Seventeenth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in November 2018, and the intersessional meetings of the treaty in May 2019, where it provided a statement on universalization.[4] Indonesia previously served on the Committees on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies (2010–2011), and Resources, Cooperation, and Assistance (2014).
A Foreign Ministry official previously stated to the Monitor that Indonesia believes that, “any mines, even anti-vehicle ones, which are fitted with sensitive fuzes or anti-handling devices which can be triggered by the presence or proximity of human activity qualify as antipersonnel mines according to Article 2, [and] should be banned.”[5]
Indonesia is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons. It is also not party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
Production, transfer, stockpile destruction, and retention
Indonesia has stated that it has not produced or used antipersonnel mines.[6] Indonesia destroyed the last of its 11,603 stockpiled antipersonnel mines on 13 November 2008.[7]
Indonesia initially stated that it would retain 4,978 mines for training purposes.[8] However, after reviewing its need to retain that number of mines,[9] Indonesia destroyed 2,524 mines on 15 December 2009. In February 2011, an Indonesian military official informed the Monitor that Indonesia had plans to conduct verification of its data on mines retained to determine which of the mines should be destroyed.[10] At the end of 2010, Indonesia reported retaining 2,454 mines, including 1,500 PMA-1 mines, seven PMRS mines, and 947 K-440 directional fragmentation mines.[11]
Mines retained for training purposes are under the control of the Director General of Defense Strength in the Ministry of Defense. Indonesia has not provided specific details, but has said the mines will be used as “instruction/teaching materials” to enhance the identification, detection, and destruction of mines in general, and “particularly for the purpose of preparing Indonesia’s participation for UN peacekeeping operations.”[12]
In June 2010, a Foreign Ministry official said that the training program had not yet begun, and that the government “is still in the process of reviewing its need to retain live mines.”[13]
In March 2011 a Ministry of Defense official informed the Monitor that it needs to retain live mines because dummy mines would not be taken seriously by new recruits. He stated that mines are used in yearly training of new recruits, including demonstration of the mines’ destructive force. He reiterated previous statements that mines retained would be needed for possible future training of Indonesian peacekeepers.[14] Also in March 2011, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official stated that Indonesia would retain live mines for training, and noted that Indonesia participates in military missions outside the UN under the Organization of Islamic Conference framework and bilaterally under arrangements in Southeast Asia, such as Mindanao. Indonesia stated that it has plans to send observers to Cambodia and Thailand.[15]
Indonesia has not reported that it has consumed any of the mines it has retained for training in the past four years.[16] A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official explained that mines had not been used in military trainings due to a need to bring in specialists.[17]
[1] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form A, 21 June 2011. The law was appended to Indonesia’s initial Article 7 report and provides for the death penalty, life imprisonment, or imprisonment for a maximum of 20 years for the import, transfer, receiving, acquiring, possession, ownership, transportation, hiding, bringing, use or export of firearms, munitions, or explosives, including mines.
[2] Email from Andy Rachmianto, Deputy Director, Directorate for International Security and Disarmament, Department of Foreign Affairs, 23 March 2009.
[3] Interview with Roy Soemirat, Head of Section, Directorate of International Security and Disarmament, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jakarta, 5 April 2011.
[4] Statement of Indonesia, Mine Ban Treaty intersessional meetings, Geneva, 24 May 2019.
[5] Email from Luna Amanda Fahmi, Desk Officer for Disarmament Affairs, Directorate for International Security and Disarmament, Department of Foreign Affairs, 18 June 2010.
[6] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form E, 21 June 2011; and statement of Indonesia, Tenth Meeting of States Parties, Mine Ban Treaty, Geneva, November 2010. There have been conflicting reports about past mine use by Indonesian forces in West Papua in 1961–1962 and in East Timor in the 1970s. See, Landmine Monitor Report 2000, pp. 452–453.
[7] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form F, 17 April 2009. In Form G, Indonesia reports that the 11,603 destroyed mines also included 78 Kayu mines and nine BG M35 mines. In total, Indonesia reports destroying 9,828 Yugoslav PMA-1; 1,612 Yugoslav PMRS; 78 Russian Kayu; 32 Korean K-440; 26 Yugoslav Armadila; 10 Yugoslav Honckin; nine Belgian BG M35; and eight Indian MK I. The nomenclature for several of the mines in Indonesia’s Article 7 report, such as the Kayu, Armadila, and Honckin, are not standard.
[8] Statement of Indonesia, Ninth Meeting of States Parties, Mine Ban Treaty, Geneva, 26 November 2008.
[9] Email from Luna Amanda Fahmi, Department of Foreign Affairs, 18 June 2010.
[10] Interview with Col. Jimmy Alexander Adirman, Head of Inventory Sub-Directorate, Material Directorate, General Defense Strength Directorate, Ministry of Defense, Jakarta, 10 February 2011.
[11] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form D, 21 June 2011. Indonesia’s previous Form H, indicated the K-440s are electrically fuzed. If these “Claymore-type” mines can only be used in command-detonated mode (as opposed to victim-activated, usually with a tripwire), then they do not qualify as antipersonnel mines under the Mine Ban Treaty.
[12] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form D (1)(b), 3 June 2010. The same language is used in an email from Luna Amanda Fahmi, Department of Foreign Affairs, 18 June 2010.
[13] Email from Luna Amanda Fahmi, Department of Foreign Affairs, 18 June 2010. This was the response to a question from the Monitor about whether Indonesia needed to retain live mines, as opposed to inert mines, for training purposes.
[14] Interview withBrig.-Gen.Robby Tuilan, Chief of Industry, Research and Development Center, Ministry of Defense, Jakarta, 7 March 2011.
[15] Interview with Roy Soemirat, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jakarta, 7 March 2011.
[16] Article 7 Reports, Form D, 21 June 2011, 3 June 2010, 17 April 2009, and 21 January 2008.
[17] Interview with Roy Soemirat, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jakarta, 7 March 2011.