Power of Peace

Power of Peace

Expanded Indonesia Peace and Security Center reflects country's long commitment to peacekeeping and serves as a resource for the UN as well as Asean.

A 150-metre flagpole and a 13-tonne bronze statue of a soldier wearing a blue beret, the symbol of United Nations peacekeeping forces, are the latest additions to the hilly, sprawling compound where almost 800 soldiers from 26 countries are participating global peace exercises.

Indonesian peacekeeping forces conduct a simulation on how to handle a communal clash in a conflict zone at the Indonesian Peace and Security Center.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono officiated recently at the dedication of the two landmarks at the 262-hectare Indonesia Peace and Security Center (IPSC), which includes a training centre for UN peacekeeping troops.

"We want to make these facilities the regional or even international centre for peace, education, training and cooperation, notably in military operations other than war," Yudhoyono said in a speech marking one of the final events of his 10-year presidency.

The outgoing president himself was a UN peacekeeper from 1995-96 in Bosnia Herzegovina and is said to be the only world leader to have served as a UN peacekeeping soldier.

Perched at an altitude of 450 metres above sea level on a hill in Sentul, West Java on the outskirts of Jakarta, the IPSC –Southeast Asia's biggest peacekeeping training facility – was built at a cost of 1.64 trillion rupiah ($141 million). Apart from the peacekeepers' training centre, it also houses six other major facilities including the Defence University campus, the headquarters of the Indonesian military standby force for emergency deployment, the National Counterterrorism Agency, National Disaster Mitigation Agency, a language centre and military sports grounds.

The standby force is an 800-strong unit that is preparing to leave for a deployment to join the UN Mission in Darfur (Unamid) in December. Indonesia currently has 1,666 personnel participating in nine UN peacekeeping missions worldwide and in the southern Philippines as part of the international team monitoring the ceasefire and peace process there. It aims to increase the number of its peacekeeping personnel to at least 4,000, which would put it among the top 10 countries contributing soldiers to the UN effort.

While the complex was developing, it has played host to a number of international and regional events such as the visit of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in March 2012 and a joint counterterrorism exercise in 2013. The latter involved special forces from 10 Asean member states and eight partner countries: Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea, and the United States.

Indonesian Defence Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said the complex would continue to develop and expand as a place to which local people would have access. "It will develop into a recreational facility for local people as part of the civilian-military cooperation," he said/

Indonesia, he noted, has been sending peacekeeping troops abroad since 1959 and its soldiers are well known for their professionalism and the ability to adapt quickly and blend in with local situations.

Bagas Hapsoro, a veteran Indonesian diplomat, said that Indonesian peacekeepers in Lebanon – where he served as Indonesian ambassador for three years – were always warmly welcomed by local people.

"Our contingents always take a people-to-people or private-to-private approach and it works better compared to using a government-to-government approach which sometimes can be too stiff and bureaucratic. Taking [a people-to-people] approach really has improved our contingents' performance," he told Asia Focus on the sidelines of the event in Sentul.

Bagas, who served until last year as deputy secretary-general of Asean, said the establishment of facilities such as the one at Sentul could help spur the development of similar training centres in other Asean countries. The centre reflects Indonesia's vision for a stable, peaceful and secure Southeast Asian region.

"So this is not just for Indonesia, but it is also [useful] for Asean. We can independently solve our own problems," he said, adding that despite facing its own internal clashes, Indonesia remains committed to participating in global peacekeeping since it can draw on its own approaches in dealing with reconciliation.

The establishment of the IPSC also complements the establishment of the Asean Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (AIPR), which Indonesia proposed at the Asean summit in November 2012. One of the AIPR's aims is to conduct research into peaceful settlements to inter-state disputes such as those in the South China Sea, or intra-state conflicts such as the bloody communal tensions in Poso in Indonesia's Central Sulawesi province.

"Our vision at the AIPR is that one day we can send negotiators or facilitators from Asean countries to help ease conflict in other countries," said Bagas, who is also the Indonesian representative to the AIPR.

During a celebration of Asean's 47th anniversary at the secretariat in Jakarta on Aug 8, Secretary-General Le Luong Minh said members had been able to maintain peace and stability and cooperate to enable their economies to flourish and people to reach their highest potential.

"While this is a cause for pride and gratitude, there remain challenges on the horizon. Asean is altogether facing a changing and shifting geopolitical and geo-economic landscape that is affecting the peace, security and stability of the region," Minh said.

Bagas said it was time for the UN to take a "UN-plus" regional approach in dealing with local conflict situations.

"A regional approach would really help and contribute to a UN mission. It won't be enough to just employ a UN approach to resolve a conflict in, say, Aceh or the Philippines. There should be a local content in the approach," he said.

An Anoa armoured personnel carrier made by the Indonesian company PT Pindad and used by peacekeeping forces in Lebanon is displayed along with other equipment outside the Indonesia Peace and Security Center.

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