Britain to block sales of arms to Indonesia

Britain to block sales of arms to Indonesia

LONDON (Agencies): Britain's decision to block some arms sales
to Indonesia showed that the Labour government was serious about
putting human rights at the heart of its foreign policy, Foreign
Secretary Robin Cook said yesterday.

Cook, who is in New York to attend the 52nd United Nations
General Assembly, gave no details in an interview with BBC radio
of the contracts that have been blocked.

But British newspapers said they involved armored personnel
carriers and sniper rifles worth 1 million pounds (US$1.6
million).

The foreign secretary confirmed that the decision was a direct
result of the commitment Labour made in its manifesto for the May
1 election not to sell arms to governments that might use them
for internal repression.

"That's what guided us in that case and that's what will guide
us in any future license application," Cook said.

He said it was perhaps too dramatic to call the decision a
turning point.

"But it certainly does demonstrate that we have put in place
tougher criteria. Those tougher criteria are biting and they're
delivering the policy that we promised," he added.

Indonesia is a major purchaser of British arms.

Activists criticized Cook when he unveiled his new ethical
arms policy for not canceling any of the 21,000 licenses already
issued for arms exports to Jakarta.

But British officials said last month when Cook visited
Indonesia that it was likely some applications to export defense
equipment would be turned down in the future.

The Guardian newspaper said the applications were rejected on
the advice of the Foreign Office after tripartite consultations
with the Ministry of Defense and Department of Trade and
Industry.

British defense industry officials and unions are nervous
about Cook's approach, saying it could jeopardize lucrative arms
exports that have made Britain one of the world's top four
suppliers of weapons.

Some 400,000 jobs in Britain depend directly or indirectly on
the defense industry.

Sales of military hardware dominate Britain's exports to
Indonesia, totaling $700 million in 1996, or more than half the
overall figure of $1.34 billion.

British businesses also have around $6 billion invested in
Indonesia.