Britain set to train senior Kopassus's officers

Britain set to train senior Kopassus's officers

JAKARTA (JP): A London University research center is preparing
to set up a five-year training project for senior officers of the
Indonesian Army's Special Force (Kopassus), the London-based
Guardian News Service reported yesterday.

The Centre for Defence Studies (CDS) at King's College, London
University, is about to conclude an agreement with Jakarta to
organize a summer school, entirely funded by the Indonesian
government, for 50 senior officers covering a wide range of
"military, defense and security issues", the Guardian said.

The Kopassus headquarters in Jakarta was not available for
comment on the report last night.

The project's executive director, Chris Smith, said the
proposal originated in Indonesia and that much of the initial
initiative came from Kopassus commandant-general Maj. Gen.
Prabowo Subianto.

Prabowo discussed the project during a private visit to
Britain last year, Smith said.

The project, which involves two other British institutions,
the University of Hull and the Royal Military College of Science,
envisages a six-week seminar in Indonesia annually in the next
five years.

The CDS said the decision to go ahead was only taken after a
great deal of internal discussion. "We realized it is likely to
be a contentious program", Smith said Tuesday.

But the CDS has "full control" over the curriculum which would
include courses on human rights and international law.

The CDS was established at King's College in 1990 with a five-
year core grant from the British Ministry of Defence. The funding
has recently been renewed.

Indonesia has accepted a project proposal from the CDS which
will be the basis for a memorandum of understanding covering the
first year's seminar, and would be renewed annually.

The program will include courses on contemporary security and
Southeast Asian issues, the evolution of warfare and post-cold
war military thinking.

It will also stage "simulation exercises" as a means of
introducing the students to "new and different ways of handling
public relations".

Seminars on collective accountability, the Hague and Geneva
conventions, the role and importance of non-governmental
organizations and the media will also be "woven into the
structure".