Members of the US House of Representatives recently called on President Bush "to reconsider strengthening ties with the Indonesian military (TNI)."
In a letter to President Bush, they wrote that they are "troubled that you are seeking such normalization despite the persistence of obvious human rights, accountability, and security force reform problems in Indonesia." They called normalization of relations with the military a "premature reward for the half-steps that have been taken."
The letter, initiated by Representatives Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ), was sent as Senate and House negotiators prepare to reconcile their differing versions of the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill. The Senate version would maintain most restrictions on US military assistance to Indonesia, while the House would eliminate them.
"The House leadership should heed what its members advocate in this letter and agree to the strongest possible restrictions on the Indonesian military in the final appropriations act," said Karen Orenstein, Washington Coordinator of the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN).
"If the Bush administration and its allies in Congress are serious about promoting democratic reform and human rights in Indonesia, they would support and strengthen the Senate's restrictions," she added.
"The success so far of the recent Aceh peace agreement requires that Indonesia's security forces respect the Acehnese's political and human rights, a formidable test. The terms of the agreement must be first be implemented and given time to work before the Indonesian military is allowed any additional assistance," said John M. Miller, spokesperson for ETAN.
"A recent GAO report revealed the overwhelming failure of human rights vetting by the State Department in Indonesia. Past assurances that US security assistance will not in the end strengthen the hand of human rights violators are hollow. Further, the larger issue remains that the still-brutal, unreformed Indonesian military will see any US assistance as an endorsement of business-as-usual," Miller added.
The letter was signed by 54 representatives. The complete text can be found at http://www.etan.org/news/2005/08house.htm.
Background
The Senate version of the fiscal year 2006 Foreign Operations Appropriations bill would continue restrictions on foreign military financing and export of "lethal" military equipment until the secretary of state certifies that certain conditions are met pertaining to justice for rights violations, transparency and accountability of the TNI's operations and finances, and counter-terrorism efforts. The House version merely contains a reporting requirement on whether Indonesia has complied with past conditions on military assistance.
A conference committee with representatives from both chambers, which may meet in September, must reconcile the two versions of the bill before it is sent to the president for signature.
In recent years, Congress had maintained only one condition restricting full International Military Education and Training (IMET): cooperation by Indonesian authorities with an FBI investigation into the 2002 ambush murder of an Indonesian and two US citizens in West Papua. In late February, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice restored full IMET for Indonesia, even though cooperation by Indonesia in this case has been spotty at best. The Senate version of the appropriations bill would delay additional IMET until Rice submits a detailed report on US and Indonesian efforts to bring to justice those responsible for the 2002 attack.
A recent report of the General Accountability Office (GAO), "Southeast Asia: Better Human Rights Reviews and Strategic Planning Needed for Assistance to Foreign Security Forces," strongly criticized procedures used to vet security officers from Indonesia and other countries for training, despite US law and policy which bars training for units and individuals with credible evidence of human rights violations.
Under President Yudhoyono, humanitarian and human rights conditions have significantly deteriorated in West Papua and militarization of the entire archipelago has increased. The Indonesian government continues to block substantive international efforts at accountability for crimes against humanity in East Timor. Last month, an appeals court overturned all convictions in the first test-case of accountability for Suharto-era crimes, the 1984 Tanjung Priok massacre that left scores of civilians murdered.
East Timorese and Indonesian NGOs have repeatedly called for maintaining restrictions on military assistance. Victims and survivors of the West Papua killings have called for continued restriction of IMET until their case is fully resolved.
Contact: John M. Miller, 718-596-7668