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.