Indonesian military yet to win over U.S.<\/p>\n
Lee Kim Chew
\nThe Straits Times
\nAsia News Network
\nSingapore<\/p>\n
Human rights activists protested vigorously when American
\nlawmakers voted last week to provide funds for the Indonesian
\nmilitary despite the lack of reforms.<\/p>\n
They overreacted. That's because they read too much
\nsignificance into the Senate's move to leave alone US$400,000
\n(S$692,000) set aside for Jakarta in the International Military
\nEducation and Training (IMET) program in this year's budget.<\/p>\n
Fears that the United States Congress will be more
\naccommodating to the Indonesian Military and put human rights
\nviolations on the back-burner are misplaced, says Dr. Harold
\nCrouch, a specialist on the Indonesian military at the Australian
\nNational University.<\/p>\n
The aid is only a tiny part of the IMET program, which remains
\nsuspended for the TNI, he notes.<\/p>\n
'The money is not meant for military training but for
\ncivilians to understand military affairs and how they can
\nexercise control over the military. The vote shows no weakening
\nin Congress in its opposition to resume military aid for the
\nTNI.'<\/p>\n
According to one U.S. official, Indonesian officers will be
\ntaking part in a counter-terrorism program, but the ban on
\nmilitary relations stays.<\/p>\n
The Leahy Amendment of 1999 prohibits U.S. aid for the TNI
\nuntil there is a proper accounting of its human rights abuses in
\nEast Timor. It also stipulates reforms in the Indonesian military
\nand transparency in the TNI's budget.<\/p>\n
The TNI is nowhere near complying with the provisions to
\nqualify for the normalization of relations and the resumption of
\naid.<\/p>\n
ON THE face of it, the U.S. may appear more accommodating in
\nits dealings with Jakarta after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.<\/p>\n
Before last week's Senate vote, officials from the
\nInternational Monetary Fund and the World Bank expressed
\nunderstanding of President Megawati Soekarnoputri's decision to
\nreinstate subsidies for fuel and utilities in the face of public
\nprotest.<\/p>\n
The Indonesians were accommodating too. For the first time,
\nthe TNI allowed foreign mediation in resolving the separatist
\nconflict in Aceh.<\/p>\n
There was cooperation between the Indonesian authorities and
\nforeign countries, particularly with the U.S. and Australia, in
\nthe investigations into the Bali bombings.<\/p>\n
The TNI also allowed the Federal Bureau of Investigation to
\njoin the investigations into the murder of two American teachers
\nin Papua last year.<\/p>\n
Did all this help to set the stage for an improvement in the
\nTNI's ties with Washington? Not really, says Dr. Crouch. He
\ndetects little interest in the U.S. Congress to make things
\neasier for the Indonesian military.<\/p>\n
While U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz believes in
\nrestoring military relations with Jakarta, his zeal is not shared
\nby other senior members of the Bush administration, Dr. Crouch
\nsays.<\/p>\n
Moreover, the U.S. Congress is adamant about reforms in the
\nIndonesian military before things can move forward.<\/p>\n
The Senate voted 61-36 to reject an amendment by Senator Russ
\nFeingold to omnibus spending Bills that would have restricted the
\nprogram for Indonesian military officers to go to the U.S. for
\ntraining.<\/p>\n
But the vote in no way signals tolerance of human rights
\nviolations by the Indonesian military. In fact, the opposite is
\ntrue.<\/p>\n
THE current mood in Congress does not favor an unreformed TNI,
\neven though the Bush administration is actively seeking the
\nsupport of moderate Islamic states in the war against terrorism.
\nWhich is why the Leahy Amendment stays.<\/p>\n
'I don't see last week's decision indicating a fundamental
\nchange in policy,' Crouch concluded.<\/p>\n
There is something to be said for taking a tough line, if this
\nis an effective way to force the TNI to reform. But it is also
\npractical to involve the Indonesians in programs on human rights,
\nthe rule of law and good military governance.<\/p>\n
The Senate vote thus makes sense. Indeed, it keeps the door
\nopen for reformed-minded Indonesian military leaders to mend
\ntheir frayed ties with the U.S.<\/p>\n
But there are no signs yet that the TNI will make a bigger
\nvirtue of it. Senior military officers have not been prosecuted
\nfor human rights abuses in East Timor and the verdicts handed
\ndown on lesser culprits have not impressed U.S. legislators.<\/p>\n
Rogue military elements were also involved in murdering Papuan
\nindependence leader Theys Hiyo Eluay, besides the two American
\nschool teachers and one Indonesian at the copper mine in Papua.<\/p>\n
All this gives no cause for confidence.<\/p>\n
The TNI will now have to show restraint in preventing human
\nrights abuses in Aceh to end the separatist war.<\/p>\n
With military planes and ships that cannot operate for want of
\nspares, the Indonesians need plenty of American aid. Clearly, the
\nTNI has hard choices to make.<\/p>",
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