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.