U.S. confident over Indonesia's war on terrorism

Tiarma Siboro and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Visiting U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell expressed confidence in Indonesia's determination to fight terrorism with a pledge of US$50 million in aid to train security forces in counterterrorism.

Speaking to local and foreign journalists after holding talks with several high-ranking officials here on Friday, Powell praised Indonesia's level of cooperation in fighting terrorism and said President Megawati Soekarnoputri and security authorities were capable of dealing with terrorist threats.

"I'm very pleased with the level of our cooperation on a range of bilateral issues, not just counterterrorism.

"We admire Indonesia so much as a Muslim nation which at the same time has great diversity within that nation and allows that diversity to flourish in a way that benefits the whole society," he said.

Powell is on a Southeast Asian tour aiming to boost cooperation with the region in the fight against terrorism, and stopped in Jakarta before flying to Manila as his last stop.

On his brief visit to Jakarta, he will hold a series of talks with the President, her political and economic ministers and religious leaders.

Despite the promised $50 million in aid, Powell made clear that the United States had yet to lift the military embargo imposed on Indonesia in September 1999, but said it was expected to pave the way to normalizing the two countries' military ties.

The United States cut military ties following the postballot violence in East Timor in 1999. A number of Indonesian former military and police officials are facing prosecution at the ad hoc Human Rights Tribunal for alleged involvement in human rights abuses during the violence.

Asked what had changed about Indonesia's human rights record to allow aid to flow again to the military, Powell said:

"We are starting down a path to a normal relationship with respect to military-to-military. We are not there yet.

"At the same time the American Congress is watching carefully and expecting action to be taken with respect to past abuses that might have occurred."

During the meeting with Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, both sides agreed to hold international military training and education (IMET), as well as to involve Indonesian officers in a counterterrorism fellowship program.

"We hope that these program will help the Indonesian armed forces to improve its capabilities, or to improve the performance of military organization in a democratic system," Powell said.

Of the total funding, $47 million will be granted to the police for a training scheme and other programs until 2004. Some $16 million, including $12 million to create a new police counterterrorism unit, has already been approved by Congress, while another $400,000 is to provide for a resumption in training of civilian elements of the Indonesian defense ministry next year on top of $400,000 for the same programs this year.

U.S. Congress has signaled that it will not agree to lifting the military embargo unless the military proves it is strongly committed to internal reform, including staying out of politics.

Powell pointed out that the U.S. Congress was "watching carefully, expecting action to be taken in regards to past abuses that might have occurred", before lifting the Leahy amendment.

The lifting of the embargo would depend on the U.S. Congress and Powell said that his government had successfully convinced Congress that it was very important to improve Indonesian security forces' ability in dealing with terrorist threats.

Indonesia has denied accusations by neighboring countries that it is a safe haven for terrorists.

The accusations were prompted by Jakarta's perceive reluctance to take stern action against extreme or radical groups like the Laskar Jihad and the Islam Defenders Front (FPI).

Foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda said during the talks that the government had convinced Powell of its determination to fight terrorism but lacked the capability to do so.

"Indonesia should strengthen its capability to counter terrorism both at home and along its border areas ... We have been working with the U.S. toward that end," Hassan said.

He further defended "the fact is that Indonesia is not Afghanistan... Indonesian Muslims are very moderate and the fact that there are fundamentalist groups adopting radicalism doesn't mean they are a majority."