U.S. Congress lifts military ban on Indonesia

U.S. Congress lifts military ban on Indonesia

Agencies, Washington/Jakarta

With the United States courting Indonesia as a partner in its war
against terrorism, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted on
Thursday (Friday Jakarta time) to drop restrictions on military
aid to Indonesia.

In Jakarta, human rights activists deplored the decision,
arguing that the move would only worsen Indonesia's human rights
record.

"The antiterrorism campaign championed by the United States
should not neglect the democratization process and efforts to
promote human rights in the country," said Munir, founder of the
Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras).

He accused the U.S. of putting its short-term interests above
other countries in the fight against terrorism.

Munir dismissed claims that the Indonesian Military (TNI) was
"too weak" to fight against terrorism and violence due to a lack
of military equipment.

Hendardi of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights
Association (PBHI) said the decision was strange as the military
was still refusing to prosecute its officers.

"TNI does not deserve this facility as they are continuing to
defy the legal process and demand impunity for all of their
wrongdoings in the past," Hendardi said.

He stressed that military sanctions should have remained in
place until TNI could prove that they were willing to conduct
internal reform.

"This approval is proof that the U.S. is inconsistent in
promoting human rights and democratization in Indonesia,"
Hendardi added.

However, he said that the decision was understandable, given
the fact that President George Bush was more interested in doing
business rather than carrying out the democratization process.

"It would have been better if the money was spent on the
education of the National Police since they are the ones who are
on the front line in terms of law enforcement," he said.

After lengthy debates, the committee endorsed a government
proposal to provide US$400,000 in military assistance to Jakarta,
which Congress barred from an international military training
program over charges of human rights abuses in East Timor by
Indonesia's military in 1999.

Senators Daniel Inouye of Hawaii and Ted Stevens of Alaska
fought to lift the restrictions, which they said sent the wrong
message to the world's largest Muslim nation.

"It's not the amount, it's the symbol," Inouye said, adding
that the ban ignored the progress that Jakarta had made since
1999.

The Bush administration is pushing to lift the ban on military
aid to Indonesia, which is 90 percent Muslim and faces serious
threats from radical groups, Inouye and Stevens said.

"We can provide some of the training they need so that their
people can prevent some of the things that happened to us,"
Stevens said.

Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, who chairs the
Appropriations Foreign Operations subcommittee, fought against
the change, saying that Indonesia was responsible for massacres
in East Timor, forcing children into prostitution, supporting
radical Muslim groups and engaging in drug trafficking and
murder.

Leahy said the United States channels aid to Jakarta through
other programs, but should not help its military.