Govt unconcerned if Washington cancels F-16 deal

Govt unconcerned if Washington cancels F-16 deal

JAKARTA (JP): The government said yesterday it was not
bothered by the United States' decision to delay selling its F-16
fighters because of Indonesia's allegedly poor human rights
record, adding that it could look elsewhere for new aircraft.

Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono yesterday maintained that
Jakarta would have no problem whatsoever if Washington canceled
its plan to sell the F-16s to Indonesia.

"From the beginning it was the Americans who offered to sell
us the F-16s," he replied to journalists.

"If they want to cancel the deal, we do not have any
objections. If we need planes, we can buy them from other
countries," he said.

The United States has been hoping to sell Indonesia nine F-16s
from a batch of 28, which were originally sold to Pakistan but
their delivery was blocked by a congressional amendment which was
prompted by Islamabad's nuclear policy. The proceeds of the sale
to Indonesia were to be used to reimburse Pakistan.

Washington said Thursday that the U.S. government had
postponed notifying Congress of the sale until the legislature
reconvenes next year. Formal congressional notification is
necessary prior to the sale. It gives the legislature 30 days to,
if it wishes, pass a resolution of disapproval.

U.S. State Department spokesman Glyn Davies was quoted by
Reuter as saying the decision to delay the sale had been taken in
response to concerns in Congress over the violence in Jakarta in
July. He said those concerns were shared by the administration.
But, he added: "We are still convinced the sale is in the U.S.
national interest and should proceed."

Three years ago, Congress also blocked the sale of four
Jordan-owned F-5 jet fighters to Indonesia because of alleged
human rights abuses in East Timor.

When asked about the reason for the delay, Moerdiono said:
"Many other countries also have problems on human rights."

"Even in countries who criticize others about human rights,
you can find such problems. You can check that with the UN (human
rights) office in Geneva," he charged.

According to Moerdiono, the offer was first raised in October
during President Soeharto's trip to New York to attend the 50th
anniversary celebrations of the United Nations.

"In this matter, from the beginning the President has believed
that the purchase of a squadron of F-16s is not a high priority
for Indonesia because of the heavy financial cost," he said,
adding that this message was clearly delivered to Washington.

Moerdiono maintained that Indonesia had only considered the
offer because of its light purchase terms and the export credits
that would be granted.

"So if the seller wants to cancel the sale then we have no
problem with it whatsoever," he asserted.

The Indonesian Foreign Ministry's Director General of
Political Affairs Izhar Ibrahim said yesterday that it was
completely up to the Americans whether they wanted to sell the
planes to Indonesia.

He maintained that any purchase should be mutually beneficial
to the buyer and the seller.

"If the buyer reneges then we can always find someone else.
And it has been repeated several times over, we can always buy
from someone else," he said.

"If there's an agreement then we're happy, but if there isn't
then we'll just find another source. I'm not saying which
country, but there are many states which sell planes. It is up to
the Armed Forces to determine which type of planes is suitable
for us," he said. (mds/rid)