U.S. cops to train Indonesian police

U.S. cops to train Indonesian police

JAKARTA (JP): Washington will send a team of United States
police officers in the next few days to train their Indonesian
counterparts in handling protests, Antara said on Monday.

Quoting Sunday's report of The New York Times, the news agency
said the dispatch was arranged in anticipation of the June 7
general election, despite criticism from many human rights
activists.

The U.S. police will also train Indonesian police on how to
improve relations with the media, political parties, and
opposition parties.

A source in the White House said a team of U.S. justice and
foreign affairs ministers visiting Indonesia recently recommended
the program, saying it might help reduce the level of violence
during and after the polls as it would teach techniques to handle
protests peacefully.

The source said the Indonesian government has accepted the
offer, but did not provide details on the number of U.S. officers
to participate in the training program.

The source also said that even if the training starts in May,
Indonesian police would still get enough knowledge to prevent
riots from turning violent.

The U.S. team concluded that if the police could handle
protesters in a peaceful way, they could prevent the military
from getting involved.

Experience has shown that the involvement of the military in
quelling protests can lead to violence that claims lives, the
team said.

Human rights activist Mike Jendrzejczyk of the Asian Human
Rights, said the training program might prevent further violence
in many demonstrations in Indonesia.

Mike noted that if police violence still occurs in the country
after the U.S. training program, it could be a hot issue for
criticism by the U.S. Congress and non-governmental
organizations.

"The United States will face criticism if Indonesian police
trained by the U.S. officers are proven to commit more violence
against demonstrators, as well as other human rights violations,"
Mike said.

The White House gave a guarantee that the program will involve
only a select group of police officers in Jakarta, and said
Indonesian human rights activists will participate in arranging
the curriculum for the training. (swe)