U.S. Congress urged to lift sanctions on RI

U.S. Congress urged to lift sanctions on RI

P. Parameswaran, Agence France-Presse, Washington

The U.S. Congress was asked on Wednesday to consider lifting
restrictions on training for Indonesia's police to help the
predominantly Muslim nation combat terrorism and get its military
completely out of internal security duties.

The National Commission on U.S.-Indonesian Relations, an
influential U.S. group led by former U.S. secretary of state
George Shultz, made the proposal during a hearing on strategic
developments in Asia at the House of Representatives.

The United States restricted training aid to Indonesia's
military in 1999 because of alleged abuses by the armed forces in
formerly controlled East Timor.

Washington has demanded a full accounting for the alleged
military abuses in the island territory, which became independent
in 2001. At that time, the Indonesian police was under military
control.

The United States also wanted a proper inquiry into the
killing of two Americans and an Indonesia employee attached to a
U.S. company in the country's Papua province in 2002.

The commission on Wednesday argued that U.S. training for the
Indonesian police should resume now as the force had been removed
from control by the military about three years ago and now
operating directly under President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

"The police have made significant progress in reform and we
urge the Congress to consider removing restrictions on U.S.
assistance through our regular aid program," Edward Masters, the
commission's vice-chairman, told the hearing of the House's
committee on international relations.

Masters said the role of the police in combating terrorism was
crucial for Indonesia, where the Southeast Asian chapter of Osama
bin laden's al-Qaeda terror network remained a threat to regional
security.

Indonesia has crippled Jamaah Islamiyah "but by no means
eliminated it as a threat," he said.

"There are good indications that new recruits are falling in
behind those who have been picked up, and the organization
remains dangerous," Masters warned.

Jamaah Islamiyah, whose goal is to establish by force a large
Muslim state cutting across much of Southeast Asia, has been
accused by Jakarta of staging the Bali bombing that killed more
than 200 people, mostly foreigners in October 2002.

"We believe it is essential that the Indonesian police be
trained and expanded as quickly as professionally possible,"
Masters said.

It was also "critical" for the police to be trained by the
United States to get the military out of the field of internal
security.

"With the police now slowly emerging from military control, we
think it is a golden opportunity for the U.S., in fact also the
other countries, to move and help make it a really professional
force," Masters, a former U.S. ambassador in Jakarta, told AFP.

On military aid to the Indonesia armed forces, he said the
commission would like to see selected training programs resumed.

"But we recognize that political support for resumption of a
military-to-military relationship will be lacking until there is
a satisfactory resolution" to the killings.

Although there seems to be some support among circles in
Washington, Congress voted again recently to block the
restoration of military aid to Indonesia until it addresses human
rights abuses by the army.

The commission also sought U.S. assistance in the fields of
education, public diplomacy and investments in Indonesia.

Dan Burton, a senior Republican House member, last month set
up a Congressional Indonesian Caucus to boost bilateral ties
while former Republican Senate majority leader Bob Dole has
agreed to play a key role in firming up Jakarta's links with
Washington, officials said.