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Indonesian armed forces in East Timor

Indonesian military forces in East Timor include regular police, mobile brigade police (Brimob), Indonesian infantry battalions, the Indonesian special forces (Kopassus), at least one air force battalion, local territorial troops, a variety of paramilitary forces and an extensive intelligence network.

East Timor has more than 2,500 police. The ratio of police to people is 1:300, compared to a national average of 1:2,000. In 1993, there were eight battalions in East Timor, each consisting of about 700 troops. Two were withdrawn in September 1995, but this was offset by the creation of local battalions and other military and paramilitary groups.

Special counterinsurgency units operate alongside local units in areas of guerrilla activity. There are also hundreds of troops based in the regional military command (Korem 164), 13 district commands (Kodim) and the dozens of smaller subdistrict commands (Koramil).

These field units are also supported by a variety of quasi- military and paramilitary groups such as the "three-month army" (tentara tiga bulan), East Timorese youths who receive three months' training in Malang, East Java, and fight alongside more experienced combat units in the Rajawali task forces.

Another such groups is the Gardapaksi (Garda Pemuda Penegak Integrasi or Youth Guard for Upholding Integration) which was created in July 1995 and as of mid-1997, and is believed to have around 800 members. Supposedly a civilian training program for unemployed youth, its members also receive military training from Kopassus and are involved in operations by regular military units. Gardapaksi members are paid an "honorarium" of 17,000 Rupiah a day for taking part in actions such as pro-independence counter demonstrations. They also receive other benefits such as better housing and access to university. Gardapaksi also recruits from youths who have been arrested for anti-integration activities who are mistreated then released on the condition they become informers.

Since 1989, the military have also used masked assassins dressed in black known as "ninjas" against pro-independence activists. Although the authorities have repeatedly denied any connection with their activities, it is common knowledge that they are made of East Timorese working with the military or Indonesian soldiers. A fatal ninja attack on an East Timorese youth in October 1991 led to the Dili massacre a month later. As the role of Gardapaksi has increased, ninja attacks seem to have declined. although on July 11, 1997, a university student was stabbed to death by a masked man in black clothes.