Australian military to renew ties with Indonesia's Kopassus

Australian military to renew ties with Indonesia's Kopassus

Agencies, Jakarta/Canberra

Canberra wants closer cooperation with Jakarta to fight
terrorism, Prime Minister John Howard said on Monday as his
government defended a plan to repair severed ties with
Indonesia's special forces Kopassus.

Howard told Parliament that he had offered Australian help to
Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri after last week's
bomb attack at the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, which killed 11
people and injured 148 others.

In Jakarta, the Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen.
Endriartono Sutarto said on Monday that there had been ongoing
talks between the Armed Forces of the two countries regarding
antiterror training.

"The training is planned not just for Kopassus, but also for
other antiterror units within the armed forces," Endriartono said
at the State Palace.

The four-star general said the training would improve the
capability of soldiers in dealing with terrorism and would be
part of Australia's commitment to support Indonesia in handling
the problem.

Howard said there was a "renewed determination and willingness
of the Australian government and the Australian people to work as
closely as possible with the government and the people of
Indonesia to strengthen the joint effort to oppose terrorism in
our region."

On Sunday, Australian Defense Force chief Gen. Peter Cosgrove
said new ties were needed with Kopassus, which were severed in
1999 after the violence and human rights abuses in East Timor, in
which several members of TNI were charged.

On Monday Defense Minister Robert Hill tried to explain the
justification for the plan.

"Whether it's with the police or whether it's with Kopassus,
we will work with those Indonesian force elements necessary to
best ensure safety of Australian citizens," Hill told the Senate.

At the same time, Australia would continue to pressure
Indonesia over human rights concerns, he said.

On Sunday, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said his
counterpart Hassan Wirayuda would visit Australia within the next
few weeks to discuss setting up a regional summit on terrorism.

Indonesia has been hit by two major terror strikes in less
than a year: last week's Marriott blast and the Oct. 12 Bali
bombings that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.

Both have been blamed on the al-Qaeda-linked Jamaah Islamiyah
(JI), a militant group that aims to set up a giant Islamic state
across much of Southeast Asia and Australia.

Australian and Indonesian forces had close ties during the
1990s and signed a military treaty in 1995. Many officers from
the Indonesian military and Kopassus soldiers trained at
Canberra's defense academy.

Australia cut military ties with Jakarta in September 1999
after pro-Jakarta militias trained by the army and police went on
a bloody rampage in East Timor following the province's vote for
independence.

Kopassus, which has long been accused of rights abuses in
trouble spots throughout Indonesia, was accused of being behind
much of the violence.

Canberra has already re-established some links with the TNI,
but has been reluctant to forge a new relationship with Kopassus.

"I've yet to be persuaded that Kopassus has changed its
spots," said Kevin Rudd, a spokesman for the opposition Labor
Party.

"Kopassus, in the past has had a close relationship with
Laskar Jihad, and Laskar Jihad has effectively been, within
Indonesia in the past, operating as a semi-terrorist
organization," he said.