RI-U.S. military ties unlikely to materialize soon: Observer
RI-U.S. military ties unlikely to materialize soon: Observer
A'an Suryana
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
It is premature to expect the restoration of military ties
between Indonesia and the United States to take place in the near
future as the plan is likely to meet strong objections from the
U.S Congress and the State Department, a political observer said.
Kusnanto Anggoro, a senior researcher from the Centre for
Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said on Saturday that
although the Pentagon might push ahead with restoring military
cooperation, especially in the form of Foreign Military Sale
(FMS), the Congress, which issued a ban on the sale of weaponry
to Indonesia in 1999, remained doubtful of the Indonesian
Military's (TNI) commitment to human rights.
"Sluggish progress in the East Timor tribunal has cast doubt
over TNI's commitment to human rights," he said.
Kusnanto believed the U.S. would not hastily revive military
cooperation, but instead would push the TNI to continue with
internal reform.
"Should internal reform take place, which subsequently
improves TNI's commitment to human rights, that will be the time
for the U.S. to resume military ties," he said.
Kusnanto was commenting on talks between Indonesia and U.S.
top officials on the possibility of restoring military
cooperation between the two countries which was suspended after
the violence that ensued the East Timor independence vote in
1999.
The TNI is widely considered responsible for the September
1999 chaos in East Timor.
Visiting U.S. senators met with Vice President Hamzah Haz and
Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono on Saturday to look into the possibility of
resuming military cooperation. Officials from the two countries
will hold a forum next month here to further discuss the plan.
Military ties between the two countries have been gradually
restored since 2000, but the U.S maintains an embargo on combat
equipment.
TNI officials claim the ban has restrained security operations
to maintain peace and order as well as efforts in fighting
terrorism.
Chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights
Association (PBHI) Hendardi said on Saturday empowering the TNI
with weaponry would only increase the military's destructive
capability, thus posing a danger to democracy and human rights
protection.
"Should the military ties be resumed, it will lead Indonesia
into another dark age of anti-democracy," Hendardi said,
recalling the period of rampant human rights abuses during the
authoritarian New Order regime under Soeharto, who was a former
general.
According to Hendardi, TNI looks certain to win back U.S.
assistance in the wake of the global war against terrorism.
He said Washington planned to revive military ties with
Jakarta, since it favored TNI's solid position against terrorism,
currently the chief agenda of the U.S. government.
"However, the military could take the advantage of the renewed
ties to develop a form of state terrorism," said Hendardi, whose
office provided legal aid for East Timorese leader Jose Alexandre
"Xanana" Gusmao.
Hendardi said he was concerned that the stronger the TNI the
more opportunities it would receive to make a comeback in
politics.
He justified the apprehension saying the current government
under President Megawati Soekarnoputri displayed indifference to
the presence of a strong military.
"Megawati had no comment on the reinstatement of the military
command in Aceh. She took no stance either on the refusal of the
high ranking military officers to meet the summons for
questioning in connection with three high profile violent
incidents in Trisakti University and Semanggi overpass in 1998
and 1999," he said.