Resume military ties with U.S.: Expert

Resume military ties with U.S.: Expert

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The reelection of President George W. Bush is expected to offer a
greater opportunity for the resumption of Indonesian military
ties with the United States and to clear the way for more aid to
help in the domestic fight against terrorism.

Bara Hasibuan, a former congressional fellow and the National
Mandate Party (PAN)'s director of international relations, said
that for the sake of his global campaign against terror,
President Bush would persuade the U.S. Congress to lift its
embargo on the Indonesian Military.

"The Bush administration considers Southeast Asia as a
breeding ground for terrorism and Indonesia will continue to be
its partner in fighting terrorism," Bara told a discussion here
on Friday.

According to Bara, Bush had in fact sought to end the military
embargo on Indonesia after he took power for his first four-year
term.

Bara said that the new Bush administration would also keep
disbursing aid to the Indonesian government to help it with the
antiterror drive. "But the Indonesian government must be
proactive in reaching out for it and leave its passive approach
behind," he added.

The United States imposed the embargo on the Indonesian
Military (TNI) following widespread allegations that gross human
rights abuses took place when East Timor voted for independence
from Indonesia in 1999.

The arms embargo was exacerbated by the killing of two
American teachers in Timika, Papua province, in August 2002. The
U.S. had alleged that there were rogue elements in the powerful
TNI that played a role in the ambush.

New Indonesian Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono plans to
visit the U.S. to step up the lobbying of the U.S. government so
as to have the arms embargo lifted and military ties between the
two countries improved.

Analysts have expressed skepticism that the visit would bear
fruit as the TNI has steadfastly refused to acknowledge its poor
human rights record.

Speaking during the same discussion, which was hosted by the
Indonesian Survey Institute, political communications expert
Effendi Gazali of the University of Indonesia, who is familiar
with U.S. politics, said the overwhelming vote for Bush in
Tuesday's polls showed that he had won unprecedented support for
his war against terrorism.

He said that the U.S. would pursue a more aggressive approach
in international politics.

"The U.S. government will constantly tell the world that
President Bush has never done wrong, although his administration
has failed to discover weapons of mass destruction," Effendi
said, referring to one of the principal arguments used by Bush to
justify the military campaign in Iraq.

Effendi also said that Bush would no longer care so much about
his image as he would be barred from contesting another term in
2008.

"The U.S. will portray a fiercer look to the outside world,"
he claimed.