Wolfowitz praises RI, but says no decision on military ties

Wolfowitz praises RI, but says no decision on military ties

Ken Guggenheim, Associated Press/Washington

U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz praised "a new era"
of democratic rule in Indonesia, but said no decision has been
made yet about lifting restrictions on ties with the Indonesian
military.

Wolfowitz lauded Indonesia for replacing military rulers with
a civilian government, reducing human rights abuses and
cooperating with an FBI investigation into the killings of two
Americans in Indonesia in 2002.

"There's a lot of change, in short, and I think as important
as it is to work for an accounting of things that were done in
the past, I do think that this is a new era," he said at a Senate
Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the U.S. response to the
tsunami.

But Democratic Senator Russell Feingold said despite some
improvements, "this doesn't mean there isn't an ongoing, urgent
need for military reform in Indonesia."

He said more progress is needed in accounting for past abuses,
restricting the military's "many murky financial and business
relationships" and in bring to justice those responsible for the
2002 killings of two American teachers at a gold mine in Papua
province. U.S. officials have suspected Indonesian military
involvement in the deaths.

Congress cut military aid to Indonesia in 1999 when Indonesian
soldiers were blamed for violence in the separatist East Timor
region. It later prohibited the resumption of military ties until
the U.S. government determines that Indonesia is cooperating in
the murder investigation.

Wolfowitz, a former ambassador to Indonesia, suggested in a
visit to the country last month that closer relations between the
militaries could have strengthened the response to the tsunami
and would improve Indonesia's commitment to human rights.

Some congressional Democrats and rights advocates say existing
restrictions do not impede cooperation on humanitarian missions
or human rights training.

Wolfowitz said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would
consult with lawmakers on the Indonesia issue over the next
couple of weeks.