RI's $420m jet bill covered

RI's $420m jet bill covered

LONDON (AFP): The British government will cover the US$420
million bill for the sale of Hawk jets to Indonesia after the
beleaguered state said it was unable to keep up payments on its
debt, it was reported Saturday.

The Independent newspaper said that despite this, London was
prepared to go ahead with a further delivery of 16 Hawks worth
half a billion dollars next year.

The paper said that the jet manufacturer British Aerospace had
received a guarantee from the government that it would pay
whatever parts of the debts it was unable to recover from
Jakarta.

The sale of the jets has already been a controversial issue
for Tony Blair's Labor government.

On its election in May 1997, Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said
the new administration would promote a foreign policy with human
rights at its core.

The continued export of arms to repressive regimes has been
roundly criticized by human rights groups and by left wing Labor
MPs.

The Independent said that Indonesia's total debt to Britain
under the country's Export Credit Guarantee Scheme stood at
US$2.9 billion, of which just under half is for arms.