Matthew Moore, Jakarta – Australia has moved to resume contentious joint military exercises with the Indonesian Army's special forces.
After a meeting in Jakarta yesterday between the Australian Chief of Army, Lieutenant-General Peter Leahy, and the Indonesian Defence Minister, Abdul Djalil, a spokesman for Mr Djalil told journalists that although no time or place had been agreed, "there is a desire to do joint exercises".
The spokesman, Abdul Ajis Manaf, said Australia had raised the issue, adding "it was not for the first time". He said the talks involved proposals for joint exercises in anti-terrorism and people smuggling, the two areas where Australia most needs help from its near neighbour.
Mr Manaf said the Indonesian Government had also asked Australia to help convince Western nations, especially Britain, that it was not breaching an agreement with Britain forbidding the use of its weapons against civilians. Jakarta has been accused of using British-made equipment including Hawk jets and Scorpion tanks against civilians in its renewed military assault on separatists in Aceh province.
"Everyone knows Indonesia is not allowed to use the combat equipment [bought from Britain] to do with a civilian dispute," Mr Manaf told the Detik internet news service. He did not say how Australia might satisfy itself that Indonesia was using its weapons in accordance with the conditions imposed at the time of sale.
Soon after the new military operation began in Aceh, the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign, Tapol, wrote to the British Foreign Office complaining that Hawk jets were being used in "clear breach of assurances ... that British equipment would not be used for internal repression or counter-insurgency operations."
Yesterday's meeting was the latest step in a process begun by Australia's Defence Minister, Robert Hill, last year to resume closer ties with Indonesia's military after the Bali bombings. Since then, Australian officials had visited Indonesia twice to discuss closer military co-operation in counter terrorism.
Australia used to conduct joint operations with Indonesian soldiers, particularly members of the Kopassus special forces, but these were stopped after the massacres in East Timor in 1999. Kopassus's reputation for serious human rights abuses in Aceh, Papua and East Timor means any resumption of joint exercises will be controversial.
However, Kopassus is the army unit mainly responsible for counter-terrorism, and Senator Hill has argued that if Australia is going to improve Indonesia's expertise in that area it has to work with Kopassus.
Mr Manaf said Kopassus had not been specifically mentioned at the meeting, although a spokeswoman for Senator Hill agreed it would inevitably be involved. "The minister has said it would be of a counter-terrorism nature," she said.