RI and U.S. to review security cooperation: Official

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Senior United States officials from the State and Defense Departments are to meet with their Indonesian counterparts here next month to review and discuss all forms of security cooperation between the two countries.

Foreign ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said on Wednesday that the two-day security forum, scheduled for April 25 and 26, would increase the possibility of fully restored bilateral military ties between the two countries.

"The meeting is a follow-up to an agreement reached during the visit of President Megawati Soekarnoputri to Washington in September last year," Marty said, adding that restoring military ties might have been one of the topics discussed between President Megawati and U.S. President George W. Bush.

The announcement came after the U.S. accused Indonesia of dragging its feet in fighting against suspected terrorist groups believed to be operating out of the country.

Marty, however, underlined the fact that restoring military ties between the two countries was solely the prerogative of the U.S. authorities, and that the Indonesian government would not use the meeting to ask the U.S. to revive its military ties with Indonesia in the name of fighting terrorism.

"We are aware that currently the U.S. Congress is still discussing the possibility of restoring full military cooperation with us, and we will continue to do what we have to do," Marty said.

The U.S. severed its military ties with Indonesia in 1999 after it accused the Indonesian Military (TNI) of backing pro- Jakarta militia members in a massive terror campaign in East Timor after its people overwhelmingly voted to break away from Indonesia during a United Nations-organized referendum.

The terror campaign killed hundreds of innocent East Timorese and drove at least 250,000 others into refugee camps in West Timor. At least 70,000 of them are still languishing in the refugee camps.

The U.S. Congress has stipulated certain requirements that must be fulfilled by Indonesia before ties can be restored, including the prosecution of perpetrators of gross human rights violations in East Timor, the repatriation of East Timorese refugees, and the return of the TNI to the barracks.

Some cooperation has resumed, including joint training with the TNI and National Police, although the U.S. still bans the export of combat equipment to Indonesia, severely limiting the TNI's ability to address the country's security problems.

Marty refused to say if the forum would be used by the U.S. to force Indonesia to crack down on suspected terrorist groups, or whether Indonesia would use the presence of a number of militant religious groups as proof that the country needed U.S. military support.

"We are still setting up the agenda. The main point is that the two countries are willing to look at military needs from the more technical perspective," Marty said.

Several U.S. officials have stated their desire to see Indonesia supported in the war against terrorism through the provision of more military assistance to the country.