The Timor Man. Kerry B Collison

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СКАЧАТЬ SAS troops often carried out cross-border raids into Indonesian-held Irian and Kalimantan, capturing select troops for interrogation purposes and then dispatching them without ceremony. The Royal Australian Navy, whilst on manoeuvres, passed through the Sunda Straits with all hands ready at their battle stations. The fear of Communist hordes swooping down through the archipelago into the land of the Southern Cross was real. Or at least it was made to appear so by the leading politicians of the time.

      Poorly trained and suffering low morale, many Indonesian soldiers died fighting against superior and more professionally trained forces. Nevertheless, Dr Soekarno was adamant; the war would continue. And so it did, much to the dismay of both his military commanders and Indonesia’s neighbours.

      A posting to the ‘ Konfrontasi ’battalions was considered to be extremely dangerous as the unofficial lists of missing and dead were so unpalatable the figures were never released. A casual observer might be impressed by Indonesia’s fine array of weaponry but to a skilled eye, the appalling lack of maintenance was obvious. Sophisticated aircraft and other defence equipment often remained on the ground or broken in warehouses due to the inability of the unskilled personnel to maintain the armaments. Spare parts were lost or misplaced. Although Indonesia had been heavily armed by the Russians, training programs were limited to a select few.

      The Communists urged the President to move the military from Java to front line encampments. Their logic was that this would be sufficient to cause the opposing forces to collapse quickly once they recognised the might of the Indonesian military. Dr Subandrio, in concert with his fellow party supporters, urged the President also to consider that this action would bring pressure to bear on those commanders whom they considered were shirking their responsibilities.

      The President was easily flattered by Dr Subandrio. As Head of State, Soekarno had himself designated as the Great Leader of the Revolution, President for Life, Chief of the Armed Forces and this self-delusion led him to believe that he would, in the future, lead the Non-Aligned Nations and the New Emerging Forces of the Third World. Soekarno would not heed his army generals when they cautioned him against moving his military support to outposts where they would be unable to support the Java Central Command. The generals were gravely concerned. Deliberate delays were instigated to prevent the main stay of the army’s elite forces from being moved away from their direct control.

      As a colonel in the Indonesian Intelligence, Headquarters Army Command, Department of Defence, Nathan Seda was privy to national secrets of considerable import. Clandestine meetings were often arranged to permit the exchange of secret memoranda to avoid discovery by the Communists. Reports regarding internal security were often passed, read, then burned.

      Seda was not entirely at ease with this responsibility. It rested heavily on his shoulders; however he realised that, correctly used, he could develop considerable power through the accumulation of this sensitive information.

      Lightning flashed again, this time followed by a crack of thunder that shook the building. Distracted, he checked his wrist watch, a square shaped Lavina which often opted to stop for no mechanical reason he could understand.

      It was time to leave. Seda reflected on his immediate problem with transport then instructed the motor pool not to allocate a replacement vehicle for that evening. He elected to catch a becak as the three-wheeled contraptions often succeeded where powered vehicles could not.

      Securing his desk, Seda strolled out through the old building into the courtyard, past white helmeted security guards and on to Jalan Merdeka Utara. There he beckoned towards the multitude of becak drivers who, having sighted the colonel leaving the defence building, edged forward calling out for the fare. He selected one and cautiously climbed aboard.

      A Russian-built staff vehicle eased into the courtyard as he departed. The occupants appeared agitated. Probably, thought Seda, from the many stops the vehicle would surely have made in getting through the obstacle course that the congested street had now become.

      Buses and trucks blocked traffic as passengers attempted to push their transport, often unsuccessfully, to higher ground. Waves created by the few vehicles which moved through the traffic pushed dirty water perilously close to the top of the becak’s passenger seat. Seda’s trousers became wet causing him to shift to protect the contents of his pockets from the wash. In doing so, he slipped forward and, to his and the driver’s dismay, fell sideways into the filthy, inundated street.

      “Aduh, Pak,” the driver called, his eyes wide, anticipating the angry outburst. “Sialanlu,” snapped Seda, pulling himself upright, using the becak frame for support.

      He succeeded in wading to the other side of the flooded road where the water was shallower, cursing the driver for his stupidity, punctuating the vitriolic outburst with easily identifiable finger and thumb movements, while admonishing himself silently for having lost his balance.

      He looked down at his trousers and what he saw angered him even more. They were ripped. His feet were wet and his shoes would take days to dry. He stood silently for a few moments forcing his anger to subside. Remembering the cause of his accident, Seda extracted his wallet along with its soggy contents. Four hundred and fifty wet rupiah notes! Angrily he stared at his identification card and passes. All would require replacement. Aduh , he thought, this had been one hell of a day. Resigned to the two kilometre walk and determined not to board another becak, Seda headed off in the direction of his quarters, brooding over the bad karma .

      The morning summons to report to the director’s office had been unexpected. Although Seda was an excellent officer and there was no apparent reason to be alarmed, he still experienced a sense of uneasiness. Despite being self-confident under most circumstances, he knew that this call had to be serious. The director rarely ordered such one-on-one meetings with lieutenant colonels. In fact, Seda had only met the general twice and both occasions were during briefing sessions in the War room. He resisted the temptation to hurry. It would display signs of nervousness.

      The First Directorate for Intelligence Operations was at the end of the second wing, secluded in a tight web of security. He approached under the watchful eyes of two KOPASGAT airborne guards. One of them advanced towards him and ushered him directly into an ante-room. The door was closed and locked.

      A small desk off to one corner was occupied by a first lieutenant who rose respectfully and offered the Colonel a seat on the hand-carved wooden bench seat. The suite was typical of the decorative carved settees throughout the government offices and, as many a foreign guest had found, they were not designed for long periods of sitting.

      The Colonel observed that there were no water stained ceilings here. A hand woven Persian carpet lay spread along side the coffee table upon which had been placed a glass of Java Robusta coffee, covered with the standard aluminium lid to prevent dust and flies from spoiling the cooling thick liquid.

      He ignored the offering and continued to pass the time examining the recently printed map which covered half the wall area above the trophy cabinet. The chart indicated that the ocean to the south and west of his country was now named the Indonesian Ocean and that the whole of Borneo and Malaysia bore the same identifying colours as all of the provinces of the Indonesian Republic. Seda resisted the temptation to smile as he was conscious of the young officer’s attention.

      The General kept him waiting. It was warm in this room. Was it his imagination or did the overhead fan appear to be slowing? He felt the moist droplets forming around his buttocks and then under his arms. The perspiration made him self conscious and a small damp trickle established a line down the centre of his back. He leaned forward, to prevent the sticky drops from saturating his shirt, annoyed that his anxiety would be apparent.

      Suddenly СКАЧАТЬ