UK warns Hawk dispute with RI could damage military ties

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A visiting British minister warned on Wednesday that the use of HS-Hawk warplanes in the current military offensive against rebels in Aceh could damage military cooperation between the two countries.

Speaking to reporters after meeting President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Wednesday, British Foreign Office Minister Mike O'Brien said there was a pre-purchase agreement between the two countries stipulating the Hawk could be used only in "particular circumstances".

"I hope that we will not have to take a view that our relationships with the armed forces will be affected if the agreement is broken.

"We do have agreements to supply parts and also to have further relationships with the armed forces, which might be damaged if we cannot reconcile on this issue," he said.

O'Brien visited Indonesia to remind the Indonesian government that the British-made Hawks should not be used in any offensive that could result in human rights abuses.

The visit was apparently prompted by reports that four Hawks were used on the first day of the military operation in Aceh on May 19, to provide air protection for military troops.

Indonesia, however, disputed the existence of any such agreement but only a gentlemen's agreement. Even if there was such an agreement when Indonesia purchased the 24 Hawks in 1996, use of the warplanes would not breach the agreement.

Indonesian ministry of foreign affairs spokesman Marty Natalegawa said that such a gentlemen's agreement only applied to the former province of East Timor, which won freedom from Indonesia in 1999.

O'Brien, however, said that Britain sold arms to a number of countries with strings attached.

"We certainly have no problems with Indonesia maintaining its territorial integrity, but we do sell weapons with agreements attached to these weapons and materials that it only can be used for particular circumstances," he said.

The official underlined that the disputes over the agreement could be resolved through negotiations and discussions and Britain would try to maintain military cooperation with Indonesia.

"Our Ambassador will have further meetings with Indonesian authorities to resolve this issue," O'Brien told participants at a discussion held at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

O'Brien said that the particular difficulty with the issue was that the purchase deal was made with the past government of Indonesia.