The United States is expected to bypass Congressional restrictions on funding the Indonesian military or TNI as early as this week. During the East Timor crisis, Congress passed the Leahy provisions which stopped funding to the TNI until it demonstrated clear improvements in human rights and accountability. But critics of the TNI say that a section of the multi-facted Budget bills about to pass the House, will supercede that Leahy bill.

Presenter/Interviewer: Di Martin

Speakers: Ed McWilliams, former political counsel at the US Embassy in Jakarta

Martin: When Indonesian military-backed militia razed East Timor in September 1999, Congress cut all ties with the TNI. Later that year the Leahy provisions were passed in Congress putting strict conditions on any resumption of US military funding to Indonesia.

But America's focus on global terrorism, and Indonesia's status as the world's most populous Muslim nation, is a combination resulting in a profound shift in that previously hardline US funding position.

It started to change mid last year with the Defence Department committing four million dollars worth of counter-terrorism training to the TNI. Now, as part of the huge budget set of bills about to get the nod, Congress is expected to approve inclusion of the TNI in the US International Military Education and Training program or IMET.

Indonesia's involvement in the Hawaii-based program is only worth about half a million dollars, but those who are trying to prevent the sidelining of the Leahy provisions see the IMET invitation as a dangerous development in direct military assistance.

Ed McWilliams is a former political counsellor with the US Embassy in Jakarta.

McWilliams: This is important because although it's only 400,000 dollars, it is symbolically a very important opportunity for the TNI to begin to receive funds, which had been denied the TNI because of its abuses of human rights and other problems domestically.

Martin: And this move doesn't contradict the Leahy amendments that were passed a couple of years ago?

McWilliams: This development supercedes the Leahy provisions that had been essentially constraining all military assistance provided at least through the State Department channels of funding for the TNI. We do still have the Leahy provisions impacting to some extent our assistance to the TNI insofar as restrictions continue on foreign military assistance sales and issuance of licenses for purchases of US made weaponry by the TNI.

Martin: Ed McWilliams says the change in US Congressional attitudes has less to do with Republican dominance in both the House and the Senate, than with America's obsession with dealing with global terrorism in the post September 11 environment.

McWilliams: I think it's not so much the fact that the Republicans now control the Senate; of course they had control of the House of Representatives for some time. What has really changed is that the administration's arguments that it needs to have the cooperation of foreign militaries to fight terrorism in its rubric has had great sway on the Hill. There is no one prepared now or very few people prepared on the Hill to say no to the administration on the terrorism issue. So that when it comes to the Congress and says we need to make the TNI a partner in our fight against terrorism in Indonesia for example, very few people are prepared to stand up against that. What is interesting we still have some Republicans and of course quite a few Democrats who are prepared to contest that, but nowhere near the numbers that we've seen in the past.

Martin: Do you think that faith in the TNI, in fighting terrorism is credible considering your experience in Jakarta?

McWilliams: No, no certainly not, I mean the point we have tried to make to friends in the Congress is that the TNI itself has been a partner in terrorism. I mean it sponsors terrorist organisations, such as Laskar Jihad, cooperates with them, so that we are making ourselves a partner of an institution which is itself a terrorist organisation, an organisation which conspires with terrorists.

Martin: And within that context explain the Feingold Bill, which was lost last week in the Senate?

McWilliams: This was in the form of amendment offered by Senator Feingold, which very specifically would have limited IMET assistance, IMET opportunity for the TNI to what we call expanded IMET, which is a very limited program.

Martin: Which only deals with human rights rather than, say, gun trading or whatever?

McWilliams: Exactly, non-lethal aspects of military training. This amendment to essentially give TNI only the smallest weakest element of IMET was defeated in a largely party line vote, 61-36. We did find a number of Republicans crossing the aisle as we say to support the Finegold amendment, but in the final analysis nowhere near enough.

Martin: So in other words your argument that TNI has been a sponsor of terrorism failed in the Congress?

McWilliams: That was but one of the arguments that were employed. We also argued that in as much as we have now apparently seen the TNI culpable for the murder of two American citizens and the wounding of eight American citizens in the Timika incident, an attack on some schoolteachers back in August.

Martin: This was in West Papua?

McWilliams: In West Papua, it was our assumption that this would carry quite a bit of weight with the American Congressman and Senators, and it did indeed but not sufficient to overcome the administration argument that no, they needed TNI as a partner in the war on terrorism.