The United States has given its clearest signal yet that it may consider lifting the arms embargo imposed on Indonesia in 1999. A partial lifting of the embargo came soon after the tsunami struck the coast of Sumatra, with the US military offering spare parts for Indonesia's Hercules C-130 transport planes. Some human rights groups are worried about the possibility restrictions on arms will be lifted, in light of the Indonesian military's track record.

Presenter/Interviewer: Paul Allen

Speakers: Admiral Thomas Fargo, the Commander of the United States Navy's Pacific Command; Anselmo Lee, Executive Director, ForumAsia; Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy US Defence Secretary

Allen: It all seems sensible enough. The December 26 tsunami created a humanitarian emergency in the Indonesian province of Aceh, but thanks to the US arms embargo, fifteen of Indonesia's Hercules C-130 transport planes were stuck on the ground, needing maintenance.

The answer was the partial lifting of the embargo. Admiral Thomas Fargo, the Commander of the United States Navy's Pacific Command who is currently in Aceh, explains the logic.

Fargo: It's clear to us that if the TNI could fly more of those C-130s, had more of them operational, then they could make a greater contribution.

Allen: US and Indonesian aircraft engineers have been working together to get the planes flying again.

But the Bangkok-based human rights groups Forum Asia is concerned that this could be the thin end of the wedge. Executive Director, Anselmo Lee:

Lee: That should be limited to humanitarian effort, not military operation. they have to make it clear, but it's not very clear, whether it's for that type of military support of assistance is for what purpose.

Allen: So you're concerned that once repaired there's no guarantee the C-130s would be used for other purposes?

Lee: We're afraid not.

Allen: The United States and its military have made a significant contribution to the relief effort.

The aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln has been anchored off the coast of Aceh since the first of January, its helicopters have been crucial in getting supplies to the areas worst hit by the tsunami.

And in the background, the politics. Deputy US Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz has long been in favour of the United States Congress lifting its arms embargo on Indonesia, which was imposed in 1999 in response to the TNI's activities in East Timor.

Mr Wolfowitz is now using the context of the tsunami again to raise the matter of lifting the embargo.

Wolfowitz: Everybody loses a great deal when a long period of time goes by with severe limitations on the ability of our military, with deeply imbued democratic values, with a very strong sense of what it means to take orders from civilians. When you cut off their contact with a military, whether we did in Pakistan for much too long a time, or here as we've done to a lesser extent, it is not supportive of the very goals which these restrictions are meant to achieve.

Allen: Commander Thomas Fargo expresses similar sentiment.

Fargo: Certainly all of our relationships with Indonesia have been improving also. As the TNI have embarked on reform, and I think there has been some significant progress in that area. The TNI is no longer involved in the political apparatus, and I think General Sutarto is trying to move the TNI in the right direction in terms of civilian control of the military and respect for human rights.

Allen: But Human Rights group Forum Asia is unconvinced. It claims to have received reports of Indonesian soldiers selling food aid on the black market, and of tsunami victims being asked for identity cards to determine if they are involved with the separatist Free Aceh Movement. Forum Asia's Anselmo Lee doubts the TNI has changed its ways.

Lee: We see increasingly the militarisation of this humanitarian effort. We understand you know that this is an emergency situation and sometimes you have to mobilise the military, they have the resources, that's fine, but the question is whether that can contribute to the peace building or the escalation of the military tension. At the end of the day that is our concern you know.