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Downer reassures on Kopassus troops

Australian Associated Press - August 14, 2003

Australia would do its best to ensure Kopassus troops who trained East Timor militias would not be involved in joint activities when military links were re-established, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said.

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd raised an incident at Suai, in East Timor, on October 6, 1999, in which two Australian soldiers in an Interfet vehicle came under fire and were seriously wounded. Two militia members were killed.

"Can the minister assure the House that neither Gardapaksi, described by the minister's department as closely associated with Kopassus and used to conduct activities on its behalf, nor any other Kopassus-trained unit, were responsible for opening fire on Australian troops on that occasion?" Mr Rudd said.

"How will the minister ensure that in the re-establishment of links with Kopassus, that all those Kopassus troops responsible for the training of militia in East Timor for operations against pro-independence elements and the Australian Defence Force, will not form part of the Kopassus units with whom the minister now proposes to re-establish links?

Mr Downer said it had been a longstanding policy that where the government was aware of people involved in partner-militaries who had breached human rights, Australia would endeavour not to be involved with them.

"We will continue to maintain that policy," he said. "Our view ... is that where we are aware of TNI members, be they in Kopassus or other unit of TNI with which we may have, through necessity, have some degree of cooperation, and those people have involved in egregious human rights abuses of one kind or another, then we won't be participating in activities with those people."

The Australian Defence Force revealed earlier this week it was planning to resume links with Kopassus. "We make no apology for the fact that we are prepared to work with those elements in Indonesia that have the greatest capacity to help release Australians who may be taken hostage in that country, or may be part of some hijacking drama," Mr Downer said.