U.S. urged to restore military cooperation with RI

U.S. urged to restore military cooperation with RI

Yenni Djahidin, The Jakarta Post, Washington D.C.

A soon-to-be published study recommends that the United States
remove its restrictions on the Indonesian military (TNI). The
study, to be released in March, says that both countries would
benefit from a restoration in military to military cooperation.

"The United States needs a strong security partner in
Southeast Asia," says Eduardo Lachica, one of the four authors of
the report and a former correspondent of The Asian Wall Street
Journal.

The plan to issue the study follows reports that aides to the
new U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice are recommending that
she report to Congress that Indonesia is cooperating with U.S.
authorities in the investigation of the killings of two American
teachers in Papua, in a bid to have restrictions on the TNI
eased.

Lachica said that Indonesia is the best choice for the
Americans because of its strategic location and also because it
is the largest Muslim country in the world.

"Indonesia could be a major argument for democracy in the
Muslim world," Lachica said. He also said that the U.S. was not
crusading against Islam, but wants to help "moderate Muslims".

He adds that the Indonesian armed forces could not be blamed
entirely for its poor human rights reputation. He said the
country's civilian government should take some of the blame
because it has under-funded the TNI.

"We want the TNI to stop making money by itself. We want it to
be fully funded (by the Indonesian government)," he said. Lachica
said the TNI needs a budget of about US$ 3 billion a year, but
presently receives only around $1 billion a year. He added that
Indonesian officials have said it will take at least five years
for the government to provide sufficient funds to cover the
military budget.

Lachica said the cost of security is critical because without
security, the government can't function very well.

"Security is a public good and public goods always come with a
cost," he added.

Lachica also said that by punishing the TNI, the U.S. Congress
was recognizing the sovereignty of the TNI (as an entity separate
from the Indonesian state).

"(The U.S.) should deal with the Indonesian government because
we believe in the supremacy of the civilian government of
Indonesia," he said.

The study recommends that the U.S. restore the International
Military Education and Training (IMET) program with Indonesia.
IMET allowed Indonesian officers to attend military courses in
the United States.

The program was stopped following the 1991 killings of
protesters in Dili, East Timor. Military aid was further severed
in 1999 following the destruction and killings in East Timor,
blamed on the TNI, before and after a plebiscite that led to the
territory's independence.

He said that IMET had become a symbol of the TNI's pariah
status and now the military wants to get its status back.

Lachica claims that the more TNI officers are exposed to
American military training and culture, the more they would
accept the idea of civilian supremacy of the armed forces.

"The one thing that American officials didn't say is that they
want to get to know TNI members personally," Lachica said. "It's
for selfish, practical reasons," he said. Citing the recent
tsunami disaster relief effort in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, he
said the U.S. military blended in very well with the Thai
military because they conduct regular exercises.

"In Aceh, there was confusion for the first few days between
the Indonesian and the U.S. military personnel because they don't
know each other and never hold exercises together," Lachica said.

Another reason for restoring IMET, he said, is that other
countries, such as China and Japan, want to forge ties with the
TNI.

The study, entitled Enhancing the U.S.-Indonesian security
relationship: An opportunity not to be missed, also recommends
that the U.S. help Indonesia with counter terrorism efforts,
maritime security and peacekeeping missions.

Sponsoring the study is the United States-Indonesia Society
(USINDO), a non-government organization that promotes better
understanding between the US and Indonesia. Its members include
former foreign service officers from both countries and big
corporations such as Freeport McMoran, Exxon-Mobil, and Coca
Cola. Co-authors of the study are John B. Haseman, Bronson
Percival and William M. Wise.