Prior to 2001, it was known asBakin (Badan Koordinasi Intelijen Negara, "State Intelligence Coordinating Agency"); its name change was a result of restructuring in the agency.[2] At the time of its name change in 2001, the BIN's role in co-ordinating interagency operations was de-emphasised. However, in the wake of the2002 Bali bombing, its co-ordinating function was re-strengthened as part of a general expansion of the agency's mandate, which included an expanded budget.[3] BIN is headed by a "minister-level officer" as a part of thenational cabinet;since 21 October 2024, the agency is currently headed byMuhammad Herindra.
BIN has been the subject of criticism from human rights groups for its treatment of dissidents and human rights advocates in Indonesia and lack of accountability, as even the Indonesian government is unaware about their activity.[4][5]
History
1943–1965
The origins of the agency are rooted in theJapanese occupation of Indonesia. In 1943, Japan established an intelligence organisation known as theNakano School. One of its graduates was ColonelZulkifli Lubis, who would go on to lead Indonesia's first intelligence agency.
After declaring independence in 1945, the Government of Indonesia established its firstintelligence agency, calledBadan Istimewa. Colonel Lubis returned to lead the agency, as did about 40 former special military investigators. After undergoing special intelligence training period in theAmbarawa region, around 30 young men became members of the Indonesian State Secrets Agency (BRANI) in early May 1946. This agency would go on to become an umbrella organization for the Indonesian intelligence community.
In July 1946, Minister of DefenseAmir Sjarifuddin formed "Defense Agency B", which was headed by a former police commissioner. On 30 April 1947 all intelligence agencies, including the BRANI, were merged into the Ministry of Defense to become part of Defense Agency B.
In 1949, Indonesian Minister of DefenseSri Sultan Hamengkuwono IX. Was not satisfied with the performance of the Indonesian intelligence community, as it operated independently and was considered poorly coordinated. Hamengkubuwono formed the Special Service or DC, also known by the pseudonymKsatria Graha. The DC was intended to be able to respond to future issues of Indonesian security. The recruitment program was the first Indonesian intelligence program involving non-military personnel trained by the United StatesCentral Intelligence Agency. Candidates for the DC were sent toSaipan for training until the DC restarted training in Indonesia. DC agents participated in various clandestine operations such as OperationsTrikora andDwikora, as well as themassacre of suspected members of theCommunist Party.
In early 1952, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces,T. B. Simatupang, demoted the intelligence agency to theBadan Informasi Staff Angkatan Perang (Armed Forces Staff Information Agency). During 1952–1958, due to competition within the military, the various military branches and police each had their own intelligence services without national coordination. As a result, on 5 December 1958, PresidentSukarno formed the Intelligence Coordinating Body (BKI) with Colonel Laut Pirngadi as the head.
On 10 November 1959, the BKI was again reorganized into the Central Intelligence Agency (BPI), headquartered at Jalan Madiun and headed by Dr. Soebandrio. From the 1960s until the beginning of theNew Order, Soebandrio's influence on the BPI was particularly strong, especially amidst internal conflict between left- and right-wing factions of the armed forces.
1965–present
After the 1965 upheaval,Suharto headedKopkamtib (Operasi Pemulihan Keamanan dan Ketertiban, "Operational Command for Restoring Security and Order"). Subsequently, an Intelligence Task Force was formed in each region. On 22 August 1966, Suharto established the State Intelligence Command (KIN), headed by Brigadier General Yoga Sugomo and directly responsible to Suharto.
As a strategic intelligence agency, BPI was merged into KIN; KIN also had Special Operations Opsus under Lt. Col.Ali Moertopo and assistantsLeonardus Benyamin (Benny) Moerdani and Aloysius Sugiyanto. On 22 May 1967, less than a year later, Suharto issued a Presidential Decre to redesign KIN as BAKIN (Badan Koordinasi Intelijen Negara, "State Intelligence Coordinating Agency"). Major General Soedirgo was appointed as the first head of BAKIN.
Under Major General Sutopo Juwono, BAKIN had Deputy II, which was under Colonel Nicklany Soedardjo, a military police officer who graduated fromFort Gordon, US. In early 1965, Soedardjo created the PM's intelligence unit,Detasemen Pelaksana Intelijen or Den Pintel POM. Officially, Den Pintel POM was Special Intelligence UnitSatsus Intel, then in 1976 it became Implementing UnitSatlak' and in the 1980s it became the Implementing Unit 01.
Starting in 1970 there was a reorganization of BAKIN, Deputy III was added as an Opsus post under Brigadier General TNIAli Moertopo, a Suharto insider. Opsus is considered the most prestigious posting in BAKIN, involved in events ranging fromPenentuan Pendapat Rakyat ofWest Irian[6] and the birth of theGolongan Karya (Golkar)[7] to the Indochina issue.[8][clarification needed] In 1983, as Deputy Head of BAKIN,L. B. Moerdani expanded intelligence activities and BAKIN became BAIS (Badan Intelijen Negara, "Strategic Intelligence Agency"). Afterwards, BAKIN remained as a contra-subversion directorate of the New Order.
After removing Moerdani as Minister of Defense and Security, in 1993 Suharto reduced BAIS's mandate and changed its name to BAI (Badan Intelijen ABRI, "ABRI Intelligence Agency"). In 2000, PresidentAbdurrahman Wahid changed BAKIN to BIN (Badan Intelijen Negara, "State Intelligence Agency"), which it remains.
Thus, since 1945, the state intelligence organization has changed its name six times:[9]
BRANI (Badan Rahasia Negara Indonesia, "Indonesian State Secrets Agency")
BPI (Badan Pusat Intelijen, "Central Intelligence Agency")
KIN (Komando Intelijen Negara, "State Intelligence Command")
BAKIN (Badan Koordinasi Intelijen Negara, "State Intelligence Coordination Agency")
BIN (Badan Intelijen Negara, "State Intelligence Agency")
Organizational structure
BIN's previous seal
Main organization
The organisational structure is mainly based on Presidential Regulation No. 90/2012 (State Intelligence Agency).[10] The organizational structure was last amended by Presidential Regulation No. 79/2020 (Second Amendment of Presidential Regulation No. 90/2012 Re: State Intelligence Agency), signed on 20 July 2020.[11] Under the Presidential Regulation, BIN's organisational structure consists of nine deputies, which was later expanded by Chief BIN Regulation No. 1/2022:[12]
Chief
Deputy Chief
Main Secretariat:
Deputy of Foreign Affairs (Deputy I):
Deputy of Home Affairs (Deputy II):
Deputy of Counter Intelligence (Deputy III):
Deputy of Economy (Deputy IV):
Deputy for Technology Intelligence (Deputy V):
Deputy for Cyber Intelligence (Deputy VI):
Deputy Communication and Information (Deputy VII):
Deputy Intelligence Analysis and Production (Deputy IX):
Main Inspectorate:
Expert Staffs:
Political and Ideology
Social and Culture
Law and Human Rights
Defense and Security
Natural Resources and Environment
Centers:
Intelligence Professional Development Center
Research and Development Center
Education and Training Center
Medical Intelligence Center
Psychology Center
Regional BIN Offices
Extra-territorial BIN Representative Offices
State Intelligence College
State Intelligence Museum
Task forces
Training facility
BIN possesses a primary education and training facility called STIN (Sekolah Tinggi Intelijen Negara, "State Intelligence College"). It has undergraduate, master, and doctoral level educational programs for intelligence in Indonesia. All STIN graduates will become part of BIN human resources after graduation.[13] During theCOVID-19 pandemic, in September 2020 Budi Gunawan announced that STIN would open a Medical Intelligence program.[14] In April 2021, STIN opened their Medical Intelligence program, and expanded other programs under STIN.[15]
Aside from STIN, BIN possesses another education and training facility called Education and Training Center, under the Main Secretariat office. Unlike training provided by STIN, training at the Education and Training Center is more specialised.[16]
Para-commando unit
BIN also possesses at least one para-commando force unit. A unit codenamed "Rajawali" (Eagle) was disclosed by Bambang Soesatyo, Speaker ofPeople's Consultative Assembly. The existence of the unit surprised many Indonesians. The unit is signified by black full-body clad military attire, similar toKoopsus combat attire. In the press release, BIN acknowledged that Rajawali Force is a BIN force specially trained in "special threats handling and deterrence". BIN also said that the unit does not has specific name, as it changes annually. Most other details of the unit remain undisclosed.[17][18][19]
Activities
In the late 1960s to 1970s when BIN was still called BAKIN, Colonel Nicklany who at that time served as head of deputy II of BAKIN, asked for help from theCIA,MI6, andMOSSAD to train a new BAKIN unit called Satsus Intel (satuan khusus intelijen/special intelligence unit) which was tasked with handling foreign counterintelligence, namely catching foreign spies operating in Indonesia especially from communist countries, even though Indonesia does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, Nicklany did not care about this and said: "We will bring in these Israeli instructors because they are the best in world," according to Israeli officials interviewed in 2007.[20]
In September 1973, intelligence task forceSatsus Intel drew up plans to permanently station a team at Jakarta'sKemayoran Airport. The team soon began archiving color photographs of Arab passports from over a dozen nations and comparing the names to a terrorist watchlist compiled by foreign intelligence services. Especially suspicious of Yemen, BIN conducted surveillance on the Yemeni consulate for almost a decade but never found important information and, despite fears, communism was not spread to Indonesia.[8]
In 1982, BIN andKopkamtib captured Alexander Pavlovich Vinenko, aGRU agent posing as anAeroflot manager in Jakarta, and Lieutenant Colonel Sergei Egorov, the Soviet assistant military attaché. Lieutenant Colonel Susdaryanto, an Indonesian navy officer, assisted in their capture after previously being arrested by BIN for selling information about Indonesian seas and the navy to the Soviets. However, political pressure from the Soviets led to their release withpersona non grata status. Susdaryanto continued working with BIN to uncover other Soviet spies.[8]
In 2002, BIN, in coordination withKopassus's Anti-Terror unitSat-81, successfully captured Islamist militantOmar al-Faruq. He was later handed over to US authorities.[8]
In early 2002, BIN was derided by ministers and senior politicians when it emerged that it had written separate, and contradictory, reports on the economy for cabinet ministers and for a parliamentary committee. BIN also prepared an error-filled briefing for parliament's Foreign Affairs and Security Commission prior to John Howard's visit to Indonesia in February 2002. The briefing alleged that Australia'sLieutenant generalPeter Cosgrove had written an autobiography denigrating Indonesia's role in East Timor. The briefing also asserted that the Howard government had formed a secret twelve-person committee to engineer Papua's secession from Indonesia.[21]
In 2004, retiring chief of BIN, GeneralAbdullah Mahmud Hendropriyono, admitted that Indonesia had wiretapped the Australian embassy in Jakarta during the1999 East Timorese crisis and has tried to recruit Australian spies, and former intelligence service officer David Reed suspects that Indonesian intelligence has succeeded in infiltratingASIS.[22][23]
In 2005, BIN was found to have used the charitable foundation of former Indonesian presidentAbdurrahman Wahid to hire a Washington lobbying firm to pressure the US government for a full restart of military training programs in Indonesia.[24]
AUnited States diplomatic cables leak suggested that BIN was involved in the poisoning of Indonesian human rights activistMunir Said Thalib on board aGaruda Indonesia flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam.[25][26] Top level BIN officials were implicated in his murder, and a BIN deputy chairman,Muchdi Purwopranjono, was tried for the assassination attempt and acquitted; his trial was internationally condemned as a "sham trial". In 2014, former BIN chiefA.M Hendropriyono admitted that he bore "command responsibility" for the assassination, and he was prepared to be tried.[27]
In 2013,Tempo andABC News (Australia) reported that Indonesian intelligence had long been aware of foreign spying and used theAustralia–Indonesia spying scandal to gain leverage. Between 2000 and 2013, BIN,BAIS, and Indonesian police were said to have run counterintelligence operations that exposed and disrupted foreign agents, often expelling them discreetly while exploiting the incidents to strengthen Indonesia’s position.[which?][28][29][30]
In 2018, there are reports that BIN purchased spyware from Israeli-founded companies, includingPegasus. Activists fear its potential use for political purposes, and even the supervisingHouse of Representatives was unaware of this.[31]
In September 2021, not long after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, Deputy VII of BIN, Wawan Hari Purwanto, said that they continued to communicate with the Taliban to prevent terrorism from reaching Indonesia. BIN also continued monitoring groups with ties to the Taliban, and was communicating with former Indonesian fighters who had joined theMujahideen in theSoviet–Afghan War to prevent acts of terrorism in Indonesia.[32][33]
^Sitompul, Martin (10 August 2018)."Muslihat Opsus di Papua".Historia – Majalah Sejarah Populer Pertama di Indonesia (in Indonesian). Retrieved2 May 2022.
^abcdConboy, Kenneth J. (2004).Intel : inside Indonesia's intelligence service (1st ed.). Jakarta, Singapore: Equinox Publishing. p. 229.ISBN979-97964-4-X.OCLC54047314.
^Ganesa, Pandu; Adhary, Rudy (17 June 2007)."buat yang senang intel-intelan".www.mail-archive.com.Archived from the original on 23 February 2022. Retrieved22 March 2023.
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