"Today's Senate floor vote against an amendment offered by Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) to restrict International Military Education and Training (IMET) for Indonesia is an outrage which jeopardizes the rights of Indonesians, East Timorese and Americans living in Indonesia," said Karen Orenstein, Washington Coordinator of the East Timor Action Network (ETAN).
"The Indonesian military has sabotaged international efforts to attain justice for crimes against humanity committed in East Timor, exonerated itself of the strong implication that its elite Special Forces recently murdered two US teachers, and beat a US nurse-yet the Senate voted to give the military a level of support not seen in more than a decade.
Why is the Senate rewarding this behavior?" asked Kurt Biddle, Coordinator of the Indonesia Human Rights Network (IHRN). "These Senators could not have sent a more ill-timed message. Never before has the Indonesian military displayed such boldness in attacking US citizens as it did in 2002.
It's not difficult to imagine how the TNI treats Indonesian citizens," said Orenstein. "The Senators who voted against the amendment have effectively given US backing to continued gross human rights violations."
Indonesian police and non-governmental organization investigations point to TNI responsibility for the murder of two US citizens and one Indonesian, and the wounding of eight other US citizens, including a six-year-old child, in the Indonesian province of West Papua in an ambush in the mining operations area of the Louisiana-headquartered Freeport-McMoRan.
Patsy Spier, who was wounded and whose husband was killed in the ambush said, "Thank you to all the Senators who voted for Senator Feingold's amendment. The eight American survivors of the West Papua, Indonesia, ambush of August 31, 2002, continue to strive for justice."
The TNI has successfully evaded accountability for crimes against humanity it committed in East Timor in 1999 and the previous 23 years of illegal occupation. Indonesia's ad hoc Human Rights Court on East Timor has been internationally acknowledged as a sham. Thus far, the court has acquitted eleven Indonesian defendants. The architects of the scorched-earth campaign in East Timor remain free, often wielding significant power within the government and security forces.
Joy Lee Sadler is a US nurse who traveled to Aceh, Indonesia, to treat the sick and injured in refugee camps. She was recently released from four months in Indonesian jails for minor visa violations. Sadler was physically assaulted, threatened and held incommunicado for six days by Indonesian security officers. "The Bush administration and some in Congress have pushed for resumption of military ties with Indonesia in the name of fighting the 'War on Terror.
But the TNI continues to terrorize Indonesian civilians, including the torture and murder of human rights defenders and political opposition figures," said Biddle. "Further, the TNI itself has conspired with and supported Islamic fundamentalist militant groups such as the Laskar Jihad."
"Regardless of what terms Congress or the administration uses to phrase IMET resumption, the message heard by the TNI will be the same. The restoration of prestigious US military training will undoubtedly be seen as an endorsement of business as usual," said Orenstein.
"This is a major setback for military reform and democracy in Indonesia. It gives a green light for the Indonesian military to continue its use of brutal tactics against civilians, especially in Aceh and Papua," said Biddle.
ETAN and IHRN thank Senator Feingold, along with amendment co-sponsors Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR), as well as other Senators who voted for the amendment. Thirty-six Senators voted in favor of the amendment, and 61 against.