Indonesia Sends 44 Personnel To Australia To Help Handling Forest Fires

TNI Commander Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto. (Mery Handayani / VOI)

JAKARTA - Commission I DPR approved the dispatch of dozens of TNI personnel to assist in handling forest fires in Australia. This troop dispatch was reported by TNI Commander Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto in a joint working meeting between Commission I and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defense and BNPB.

The chairman of Commission I DPR, Meutya Hafid, said that his party approved the TNI's request to send troops. Meutya said this was for the sake of a humanitarian mission. This is because Australia has also helped Indonesia a lot in handling disasters, one of which was during the Aceh tsunami.

"Commission I of the House of Representatives gave their opinion and approved the government's request to send a TNI Engineer SST on a humanitarian assistance mission to Australia in accordance with the prevailing laws and regulations," he said in a meeting at the DPR Building, Parliament Complex, Jakarta, Thursday, January 30.

After the meeting, Meutya explained that the fire hotspots in Australia were indeed increasing. So, said Meutya, it is hoped that Indonesia can play a role in disaster management there. This assistance is carried out as a humanitarian obligation and to help order the world.

"The relationship between helping each other, especially in times of difficulty, will definitely help the relationship between Indonesia and Australia," he said.

Meanwhile, TNI Commander Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto said that he would send an SST consisting of a liaison officer (LO) team, Garuda Task Force and a health team totaling 44 personnel.

The composition is a six-person LO team, consisting of three TNI personnel, two BNPB personnel, and one Indonesian Consulate General in Sydney. Meanwhile, the Garuda Task Force numbered 36 consisting of 26 TNI AD personnel, six Indonesian Navy personnel, and four Indonesian Air Force personnel.

"This team will be dispatched to Australia on February 1, 2020 and will return in an undetermined time. Using the Indonesian Air Force Hercules aircraft via Kupang. From Kupang will fly to Rosemount, then will use the road provided by the Australian government to Eden District, which is a distance away. approximately 490 km more, "he explained.

Hadi said that there the TNI would help the Australian government put out the fires. They have been given areas that have been determined based on the results of the assessment from the TNI and BNPB.

"Commission I approved and on February 1 I will depart from Halim immediately from Kupang to Australia," he said.

There are two legal bases for sending the Garuda Task Force to Australia. One of the legal bases conveyed by the TNI Commander is the Lombok Treaty in 2006.

"The legal basis for sending this task force is the first, the Lombok Treaty 2006 was signed by the Indonesian Foreign Minister and the Australian Foreign Minister on November 13, 2006. And the agreement includes 21 security cooperation summarized in 10 fields, including emergency response cooperation. "he said.