Indonesian military yet to win over U.S.

Indonesian military yet to win over U.S.

Lee Kim Chew
The Straits Times
Asia News Network
Singapore

Human rights activists protested vigorously when American
lawmakers voted last week to provide funds for the Indonesian
military despite the lack of reforms.

They overreacted. That's because they read too much
significance into the Senate's move to leave alone US$400,000
(S$692,000) set aside for Jakarta in the International Military
Education and Training (IMET) program in this year's budget.

Fears that the United States Congress will be more
accommodating to the Indonesian Military and put human rights
violations on the back-burner are misplaced, says Dr. Harold
Crouch, a specialist on the Indonesian military at the Australian
National University.

The aid is only a tiny part of the IMET program, which remains
suspended for the TNI, he notes.

'The money is not meant for military training but for
civilians to understand military affairs and how they can
exercise control over the military. The vote shows no weakening
in Congress in its opposition to resume military aid for the
TNI.'

According to one U.S. official, Indonesian officers will be
taking part in a counter-terrorism program, but the ban on
military relations stays.

The Leahy Amendment of 1999 prohibits U.S. aid for the TNI
until there is a proper accounting of its human rights abuses in
East Timor. It also stipulates reforms in the Indonesian military
and transparency in the TNI's budget.

The TNI is nowhere near complying with the provisions to
qualify for the normalization of relations and the resumption of
aid.

ON THE face of it, the U.S. may appear more accommodating in
its dealings with Jakarta after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Before last week's Senate vote, officials from the
International Monetary Fund and the World Bank expressed
understanding of President Megawati Soekarnoputri's decision to
reinstate subsidies for fuel and utilities in the face of public
protest.

The Indonesians were accommodating too. For the first time,
the TNI allowed foreign mediation in resolving the separatist
conflict in Aceh.

There was cooperation between the Indonesian authorities and
foreign countries, particularly with the U.S. and Australia, in
the investigations into the Bali bombings.

The TNI also allowed the Federal Bureau of Investigation to
join the investigations into the murder of two American teachers
in Papua last year.

Did all this help to set the stage for an improvement in the
TNI's ties with Washington? Not really, says Dr. Crouch. He
detects little interest in the U.S. Congress to make things
easier for the Indonesian military.

While U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz believes in
restoring military relations with Jakarta, his zeal is not shared
by other senior members of the Bush administration, Dr. Crouch
says.

Moreover, the U.S. Congress is adamant about reforms in the
Indonesian military before things can move forward.

The Senate voted 61-36 to reject an amendment by Senator Russ
Feingold to omnibus spending Bills that would have restricted the
program for Indonesian military officers to go to the U.S. for
training.

But the vote in no way signals tolerance of human rights
violations by the Indonesian military. In fact, the opposite is
true.

THE current mood in Congress does not favor an unreformed TNI,
even though the Bush administration is actively seeking the
support of moderate Islamic states in the war against terrorism.
Which is why the Leahy Amendment stays.

'I don't see last week's decision indicating a fundamental
change in policy,' Crouch concluded.

There is something to be said for taking a tough line, if this
is an effective way to force the TNI to reform. But it is also
practical to involve the Indonesians in programs on human rights,
the rule of law and good military governance.

The Senate vote thus makes sense. Indeed, it keeps the door
open for reformed-minded Indonesian military leaders to mend
their frayed ties with the U.S.

But there are no signs yet that the TNI will make a bigger
virtue of it. Senior military officers have not been prosecuted
for human rights abuses in East Timor and the verdicts handed
down on lesser culprits have not impressed U.S. legislators.

Rogue military elements were also involved in murdering Papuan
independence leader Theys Hiyo Eluay, besides the two American
school teachers and one Indonesian at the copper mine in Papua.

All this gives no cause for confidence.

The TNI will now have to show restraint in preventing human
rights abuses in Aceh to end the separatist war.

With military planes and ships that cannot operate for want of
spares, the Indonesians need plenty of American aid. Clearly, the
TNI has hard choices to make.