Kylie Williams – The defence department has rejected a refugee group's claims that training Indonesian special forces troops will endanger West Papuan lives.

The Australia West Papua Association (AWPA) has called on the Department of Defence and new Defence Minister Brendan Nelson to rethink plans to train the Indonesian military, in particular special forces Kopassus.

Former defence minister Robert Hill announced in December that Australian forces would train Kopassus.

Refugee groups believe the shooting of four teenagers in Papua earlier this month was linked to a boatload of asylum seekers fleeing the Indonesian province and landing on the Australian mainland only days earlier.

The 43 Papuans are now on Christmas Island where their asylum claims are being assessed.

Joe Collins from the AWPA said Kopassus had a history of human rights abuses in Papua and training from the Australian Defence Force would only worsen the situation.

"Without going into any great detail of its past history, Kopassus has been notorious for its role in human rights abuses in East Timor and West Papua," he said. "AWPA believes that it is untimely for our military to recommence co-operation with the Indonesian military."

But a spokesman for the defence department said that in the light of recent terrorist bombings, it was in Australia's best interests to engage with defence forces in our region.

"The bombings in Bali on 1 October, 2005, further highlight the need for regional countries to work together in combating this common threat," he said. He said the training would not include individuals or groups with past histories of human rights abuses.

Senator Hill said late last year that while there had been concerns about Kopassus and human rights abuses in the past, it had changed its ways.