Senator Robert Hill
Minister for Defence
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

31 October 2005

Re: resumption of ties with the Indonesian military.

Jakarta – It is hoped that moves to lift the arms embargo on Indonesia by the United States will be done gradually.

Washington – Indonesia s failure to reform its abusive military makes it essential for the US Congress to maintain its restrictions on US military assistance, Human Rights Watch said to

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) chief says Australia's defence relationship with Indonesia is as good as it has ever been.

Australia's new Defence Force Chief has made it clear he wants Australia to have strong defence ties with Indonesia.

Representatives of 48 human rights, faith-based, arms control and peace groups wrote members of the US Congress this week to urge continued restriction of military assistance to Indones

Ivy Susanti, Washington, DC – Indonesian House of Representatives lawmakers held talks with US senators here on Wednesday to seek support for a full resumption of military ties between

The UK government's decision to invite Indonesia to an arms fair in London, despite ongoing concern about the country's human rights record, has been condemned by TAPOL, the Indonesia H

Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) and the United States Pacific Command are holding a joint military training operation in the waters off Tanjung Priok.

Simon Montlake, Jakarta – Nearly six years after its troops and civilian militia laid waste to tiny East Timor, triggering worldwide outrage, Indonesia has begun to repair its military

Members of the US House of Representatives recently called on President Bush "to reconsider strengthening ties with the Indonesian military (TNI)."

Jakarta – A senior US defense official on Wednesday expressed optimism that Washington would restore full military cooperation with Indonesia, citing the country's moves towards democra

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The US government is trying to persuade Congress to fully lift the military embargo imposed on Indonesia as cooperation between the armed forces of the two coun

Niniek Karmini, Jakarta – Indonesia denied Saturday that any of its security forces trained in the United States had a history of human rights violations, as alleged in a report release

Brian McAfee – "The military and Suharto had said their justification for their massive crime was an imminent takeover of Indonesia by the PKI.

The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) today praised the Senate for agreeing today to maintain most restrictions on US military assistance to Indonesia.

Jim Lobe, Washington – A recent appeals court decision to acquit 12 soldiers convicted last year of a notorious 1984 massacre in Jakarta could complicate efforts by the administration o

Victor Tjahjadi, Jakarta – A delicate balancing act of resisting international concern over past atrocities while appealing for foreign military help has begun to pay off for Indonesia

The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) condemned last night's move by the House of Representatives lifting all restrictions on military assistance for Indonesia in the FY 20

Katherine Torres, Washington – The US renewal of military aid and training assistance to Jakarta continues to spark criticism and activists accuse elements of the Indonesian military of

Indonesia's armed forces chief said the normalisation of military ties between Jakarta and Washington would help strengthen democracy in his country and ensure regional stability.

Michael Casey – Former President Clinton said Monday he favored easing restrictions on sales of military equipment to Indonesia, maintaining that America should do all it can to help it

The United States has lifted a ban on the government sale of non-lethal defense equipment to Indonesia as part of a step-by-step process to restore full military ties frozen due to huma

Michael A.

Salim Osman, Jakarta – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono hopes to persuade United States legislators to end a ban on selling military equipment to Indonesia on his first tri

Slobodan Lekic, Jakarta – Indonesia must do more to pursue justice in the shooting deaths of two American schoolteachers three years ago before Washington can agree to restore military

Ivy Susanti and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Adm. William J.

The United States is determined to normalize military ties with Indonesia, America's top commander in the Pacific said Friday, despite accusations by human rights groups that Jakarta's

Edmund McWilliams – Is the United States making the same mistakes in its search for partners in the "war on terror" as it did during the Cold War?

Jakarta – Military cooperation between Indonesia and the United States was high on the agenda at a meeting between Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen.

Jakarta – A US navy commander expressed optimism that the US will soon resume full military cooperation with Indonesia, citing progress by Jakarta on human rights issues.

With great pleasure, ETAN today announced a new name for the 13-year-old organization – the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN).

Canberra – The Indonesian and Australian air forces have launched their first joint military exercise since relations between the two countries plummeted over Jakarta-sponsored violence

This week Prime Minister Helen Clark will meet with the President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Brad Simpson, Washington, D.C.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono says the US government and legislators now have a better understanding of the Indonesian Military (TNI) after his de

Joseph Moakley, a member of the US Congress from the Republican Party, has said: "The US must get out of the business of training the foreign military.

Following are statements made by two former US Diplomats to a congressional hearing on the future of US relations with Indonesia.

Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono was on a mission impossible that cold wintry week in Washington, DC, on March 12-19, when temperatures hit close to zero degrees Celsius.

Jakarta – Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander General Endriartono Sutarto has welcomed the resumption of the International Military Education Training (IMET) program by the US governmen

David Isenberg, Washington – The news that the United States is lifting its ban on military assistance to Indonesia, announced last Friday, reminds one of a famous saying by American wr

[Excerpt from Senator Leahy on Bush's judicial nominees: You Can't "Make The Judiciary An Arm Of The Republican Party".]

James Balowski, Jakarta – In the boldest statement on the subject to date, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has signalled that the US is ready to restore full military training ti

In one of her very first moves in office, new US State Secretary Condoleeza Rice made the decision to resume full International Military Education and Training (IMET) for Indonesia.

On 26 February 2005, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice "determined that Indonesia has satisfied legislative conditions for restarting International Military and Educational Trainin

Jakarta – The United States' decision to resume training members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) after a 14-year suspension of cooperation shows Washington's recognition of the governm

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Indonesia will tap America for nuts-and-bolts operational skills for its troops, not just lessons in military strategy for the top brass, now that the US has de

Tim Shorrock – The Bush administration and the Pentagon are leveraging warmer post-tsunami relations with Indonesia to convince Congress to lift its restrictions on full military ties w

The United States, eager to build up its alliances in Southeast Asia, has decided to resume training members of the Indonesian armed forces suspended since 1992, officials announced.

Murray Hiebert, Washington – The US has taken a key step that lets it restore, at least for this year, a military assistance program with the Indonesia military that had been curbed for