The United States has lifted its six year military embargo on Indonesia. Imposed in 1999, after the military ravaged East Timor during the territory's break from Jakarta, Washington now wants to help Indonesia in its fight against terrorism.

Presenter/Interviewer: Kanaha Sabapathy

Speakers: Bob Lowry, consulting analyst on political and military affairs in Indonesia.

Sabapathy: Using a national security waiver to drop its arms ban on Indonesia, Washington justified its decision on a number of grounds. This is Bob Lowry a consultant analyst on political and military affairs In Indonesia.

Lowry: The public explanation was that Indonesia is in the transition to democracy and they want to encourage that process, as well as that it's an ally in terms of the war against terrorism, and also if they can become a successful democracy as an Islamic country it will be an example to other Islamic countries that there's no inconsistency between Islam and democracy. And also in a more strategic sense of course, is Indonesia has been an always will be important to America in terms of transit rights through the archipelago and of course America does have large investments in Indonesia that need protection and posturing as well.

Sabapathy: Washington had long tried to lift the embargo that was imposed in 1999 but was stymied by US lawmakers demanding the Indonesian military undertake meaningful reforms.

And in the past few years Indonesia has indeed undergone enormous changes, democratic reforms have been introduced, the military has returned to barracks and the government is working to rid the country of its terrorist cells.

Speaking in India where he's with his president on an official visit, Indonesia's defence minister Juwono Sudarsono says the lifting of the embargo is a credit to Indonesia's reform agenda.

Sudarsono: But I must emphasis that the terms of this lifting are largely on our own. We did the reform the military. We did our work in counter-terrorism on our terms, at our own speed and our own scope, but we welcome this opportunity to work again with the United States.

Sabapathy: But has the govt implemented real reforms, not so says Bob Lowry.

Lowry: No, it hasn't been able to do a lot in terms of bringing the perpetrators of human rights abuses to trial either, as those committed in Indonesia or in East Timor in the past and that's because it doesn't have the political capacity to do that. The military are still a powerful influence in Indonesian politics generally.

However, the military has stepped back from its direct role in politics and their reform measures are moving forward slowly, but it's not able politically to bring those people to trial and won't be for many years to come.

Sudarsono: We have done our reform. We've done our trials of officers whom we regard as being involved in those violations on our own terms and we insist that these issues should be resolved at the speed and scope of our judiciary system.

Sabapathy: Minister Sudarsono. Jakarta did conduct trials of some of those accused in the East Timor violence but of the 18 government and military officials tried, 16 have been acquitted.

The lifting of the arms embargo comes close on the heels of the decision by Jakarta to reactivate the military spy network, Babinsa further empowering the military in its search and arrest roles.

With terrorism an ever present problem the government may have justification to empower the military, but as Bob Lowry says Jakarta needs to put limits.

Lowry: The government believes in this case that it needs the additional support of the military to beef up the efforts of the police and the intelligence service, because both of those organisations like the military are in the process of being reformed and made more effective and efficient. But at this stage, both have a long way to go and the government obviously believes that it's necessary to call in military assistance.

The big thing for the government of course in relation to this is to make sure that it lays down very, very clearly what powers the military has to stop, to question people, to detain them, to search and so on. And this really all points to the needs of the government really to sit down and to work out what it needs the military for, what it wants it to do, and then how it should be structured and organised and that process hasn't even begun yet.

Sabapathy: The lifting of the embargo effectively allows for Indonesia to buy military hardware but Bob Lowry says for the present this is not going to be the case.

Lowry: You'll find in the short term, that the big thing is to buy spare parts, to get existing holdings of equipment going and serviceable. I doubt that they'll be buying large quantities of new weapons systems just in the very short term, because the government just doesn't have the money for that and doesn't need it at this stage.