Army won't send troops to Perth due to rallies

Tiarma Siboro and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian Army has turned down Australia's invitation for some of its Special Forces (Kopassus) officers to talk about antiterrorism training in Perth.

Spokesman for the Indonesian Military (TNI) Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said on Monday the Army decided to decline the invitation following demonstrations by several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the neighboring country against the visit of Kopassus chief Maj. Gen. Sriyanto Muntarsan.

Sriyanto should have lead six Kopassus officers during the week-long trip upon the invitation of the Australian government to the Australian Special Air Service Regiment's Swanbourne base in Perth slated to begin on Oct. 6.

"The Army's leadership has decided to postpone the trip to Australia due to the rallies," he told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

"It is impossible for the team to leave without the commander. Therefore, the Army postponed the visit to avoid causing problems for the Australian government."

Sjafrie did not identify the NGOs.

He said no arrangement had been set for the overseas training yet as the visit was only for "observation purposes" to learn the possibility of sending Kopassus members to the neighboring country.

We have not received a response from the Australian government after we rejected the invitation, he added.

Sriyanto has been named a suspect in connection a trial over gross human rights violations in Tanjung Priok in 1984, which claimed at least 14 lives.

Australian daily Sydney Morning Herald reported that the objection came from the Australian Defense Force for Sriyanto to join the Kopassus team to attend the talks.

The daily quoted Australian Defense Minister Robert Hill as indicating last week possible problems resulting from the decision to provide training for Kopassus soldiers. Australian media had asked whether Hill could guarantee that the Indonesian soldiers would not use their new skills to act against civilians.

"That presents certain difficulties in light of the history of Kopassus and we have... put restraints on ourselves in terms of individuals that we're able to deal with.

We're still working through those issues, so exercises haven't yet started," Hill was quoted by the daily as saying.

The antiterrorism talks were supposed to be followed by the training for Kopassus members in Australia later this year, he added.

Australia has attempted to resume its military ties in accordance the global antiterrorism drive after a series of bombings, including the Bali bombings that claimed the lives of 88 Australians.

It had earlier cut its training for Kopassus soldiers following the secession of East Timor from Indonesia in 1999. Some military officers had been prosecuted for their involvement in the bloodshed. However, most of them were acquitted of all charges.