Ken Guggenheim, Washington – Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz praised "a new era" of democratic rule in Indonesia, but said no decision has been made yet about lifting restrictions on ties with the Indonesian military.

Wolfowitz lauded Indonesia for replacing military rulers with a civilian government, reducing human rights abuses and cooperating with an FBI investigation into the killings of two Americans in Indonesia in 2002.

"There's a lot of change, in short, and I think as important as it is to work for an accounting of things that were done in the past, I do think that this is a new era," he said at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the US response to the tsunami.

But Democratic Senator Russell Feingold said despite some improvements, "this doesn't mean there isn't an ongoing, urgent need for military reform in Indonesia."

He said more progress is needed in accounting for past abuses, restricting the military's "many murky financial and business relationships" and in bring to justice those responsible for the 2002 killings of two American teachers at a gold mine in Papua province. US officials have suspected Indonesian military involvement in the deaths.

Congress cut military aid to Indonesia in 1999 when Indonesian soldiers were blamed for violence in the separatist East Timor region. It later prohibited the resumption of military ties until the US government determines that Indonesia is cooperating in the murder investigation.

Wolfowitz, a former ambassador to Indonesia, suggested in a visit to the country last month that closer relations between the militaries could have strengthened the response to the tsunami and would improve Indonesia's commitment to human rights.

Some congressional Democrats and rights advocates say existing restrictions do not impede cooperation on humanitarian missions or human rights training.

Wolfowitz said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would consult with lawmakers on the Indonesia issue over the next couple of weeks.