Britain okays fighters sale to RI

Britain okays fighters sale to RI

LONDON (Reuter): The British government said on Tuesday it had
approved the sale of fighter aircraft to Indonesia after
concluding they would probably not be used against opponents of
the Indonesian government.

Trade minister Anthony Nelson said he had authorized the issue
of licenses to British Aerospace Plc for a contract it signed in
1993 to sell 24 Hawk trainers and ground-attack fighters worth
about 500 million pounds ($770 million).

Nelson said in a written parliamentary answer that he had
given the go-ahead following consultations with the ministry of
defense and the foreign office.

The sale of the fighters, he said, was in line with
established, internationally agreed criteria for arms exports.

"In accordance with government policy, a thorough assessment
of the likelihood of these aircraft being used for internal
repression in Indonesia or East Timor has been undertaken. This
assessment has concluded that it is not likely that these
aircraft will so be used.

"In addition the Indonesian government has given assurances
that these aircraft will not be used for internal security or
against civilians in any part of Indonesia or East Timor," Nelson
said.

A senior Indonesian air force officer said earlier this year
that 16 of the fighters would be stationed at Pekanbaru, capital
of Riau province in eastern Sumatra, to strengthen air defenses
in an arc from northern Sumatra across to central Java.

Nelson said he was making an exception to the government's
rule not to disclose details of export licenses because the
public interest in this case outweighed the need for
confidentiality.

Human rights groups have fiercely criticized Britain for its
arms sales to Jakarta, arguing that the government would use the
weapons to keep order in Indonesia itself and in the troubled
former Portuguese colony of East Timor.