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 decided to resume training members of the Indonesian military.
Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono said the US decision last Saturday to resume the International Military Education and Training (Imet) after a 13-year gap would enhance the capabilities of the Indonesian forces.
The field of training could range from combat tactics to management or human rights laws, he said.
"We need managers in the military to make a more transparent, effective and accountable budget, but also with certain knowledge about the specifics of military equipment," he told The Straits Times in an interview.
By studying in US staff colleges, the officers would have the opportunity to draw comparisons with officers from other countries like Pakistan or India, he said.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a retired military general, was among the last batch of Indonesian officers who received training in the United States before the scheme was frozen in the 1990s because of human rights abuses in then East Timor.
The programmes should be extended all the way to the ranks of captains, Dr Juwono added.
Washington, eager to enlist Jakarta as a key ally in the war against terrorism, credited Indonesia's democratic progress and its cooperation in the investigation of the 2002 murders of two Americans in Papua province for the re-opening of the ties.
Dr Juwono is due to visit the US soon to meet US officials and congressmen, who are still reluctant to lift a US embargo on arms supplies to Indonesia. He will explain the need for the country to have a strong and professional military, he said.
He will also hold talks with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to discuss the scope of the Imet programmes.
Former military chief of territorial affairs Lieutenant-General (Retired) Agus Widjoyo hoped the programme would be as extensive as it was before the suspension. Then, it ranged from combat training for junior officers to management of defence strategy for mid-ranked officers.
"The tactical programmes, I think, would benefit us more than just courses on strategies because even lower-ranked soldiers will have the opportunity to compare notes on how to conduct military operations without excesses of human rights abuses," Lt-Gen Agus said.
Legislator Djoko Susilo said courses on human rights and humanitarian laws were important. The embargo gave rise to a growing number of hardliners in the military because they had not been taught to observe human rights, he said.