U.S. lifts lethal arms ban for RI

The Jakarta Post, New Delhi, Jakarta

The United States has restored military ties with Indonesia, after a 14-year lapse, to enable the country with the world's largest population of Muslims to boost its capability in fighting terrorism.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was quick to hail Washington's decision on Wednesday, describing the move as "a new chapter in the relationship between Indonesia and the United States, especially in the field of defense."

Speaking on the sidelines of his visit to India, Susilo said that following the resumption, Indonesia would step up its efforts in implementing its top priorities: to combat terrorism and transnational crimes, to peacefully resolve separatism in Aceh and Papua and to carry on with reforms within the police and the military in line with human rights and the rule of law.

With the lethal military hardware that it will now be able to buy from U.S. suppliers, Indonesia will also be expected to improve security in the piracy-infested Strait of Malacca, which is the busiest shipping passage in the world.

"I greatly appreciate the developments in our relationship with the U.S. We hope that with these facilities we can make our country safer," said Susilo, who met U.S. President George W. Bush during the APEC summit last week.

Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono said Indonesia would gradually send its aging fleet of F-16 jet fighters to the U.S. for a major overhaul, and middle- and high-ranking military officers would also be trained by the U.S. military as part of the deal.

"We are hoping to fully restore our F-16 squadron by 2009. We may start sending planes next year," said Juwono, who was accompanying the President during his Indian visit.

Juwono said the government would also start sending TNI officers to the U.S. for the International Military Education and Training (IMET) program, as well as mechanics so they can learn how to maintain U.S.-made military aircraft.

The lifting of the military embargo will allow Washington to restore arms sales and financing facilities, which were suspended in 1991 after criticism by U.S. politicians about human rights abuses.

Indonesia's crackdown on its terrorist network has been given a boost following the killing of master bombmaker Azahari bin Husin, an al-Qaeda-linked Jamaah Islamiyah operative, who was responsible for several major attacks in the country in recent years.

The government has also formed an antiterror desk involving Muslim leaders, which is meant to counter what they consider to be false Islamic teachings being spread by terrorists.

Washington resumed the IMET in February and non-lethal foreign military sales to Jakarta in May.

The U.S. State Department used a national security waiver to drop the embargo. The U.S. Congress has maintained the military embargo against Indonesia due to its poor human rights records, but allows the Bush administration to waive the ban for the sake of national security.

Congressional leaders have been uneasy about a lack of convictions against Indonesian Military (TNI) officers implicated in the 1999 atrocities in then East Timor and the ambush on Freeport employees in 2002 in Papua, that left two Americans killed. They have also demanded reform within the TNI.

While Tuesday's decision allows sales of lethal weapons to Indonesia, Washington will still be looking at Jakarta's rights record in determining whether to go ahead with them.

"Indonesia is a voice of moderation in the Islamic world," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement on the decision. "Indonesia has made significant progress in advancing its democratic institutions and practices in a relatively short time."

In resuming the military cooperation, the U.S. plans to provide assistance for specific military programs and units that will help modernize the Indonesian military, provide further incentives for reform of the Indonesian military and support U.S. and Indonesian security objectives, including counterterrorism, maritime security and disaster relief, the U.S. State Department said.

The move comes despite objections from human rights groups that say Indonesia has done too little to punish offenders for the violence in East Timor in 1999 that led to the cooler U.S.- Indonesian military ties.