Abdul Khalik and Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The resumption of nearly full military ties with the United States has been prompted by economic and security concerns rather than the improving human rights record of the Indonesian Military (TNI), experts say.
They urged the military Thursday to continue with efforts to improve soldiers' respect for human rights, saying experiences over the past several years indicated the military still had a long way to go in regards to protecting human rights.
"We haven't seen any improvements at all in the past several years, as many people still link the TNI with conflicts in several areas across the country," right activist Hendardi told The Jakarta Post.
"The discovery of a stash of arms and bullets in the house of a deceased general proves that some TNI officers could still be linked to human rights abuses," Hendardi said, referring to the late Brig. Gen. Koesmayadi.
In its most recent report, Human Rights Watch said the military continued to be guilty of human rights violations, in large part because of its wide-ranging business activities across the archipelago. The group accused the military of using force to protect its business interests.
Hendardi said the military would be wrong to view the resumption of military ties with the US as a testament to an improved rights record.
"We know that the United States is very opportunistic and they lifted the ban (on arms sales) because of economic reasons, not because of an improvement in human rights. So the TNI has no reason to stop respecting human rights," he said.
The US Senate decided late last month to lift all restrictions on the sale of arms to Indonesia beginning next year, paving the way for the full resumption of military ties between the two countries.
The United States imposed restriction on military sales and cooperation with Indonesia over concerns about human rights abuses by the TNI in the former province of East Timor in 1991. The US Congress has imposed restrictions since 1992.
However, the US State Department issued a waiver removing all remaining congressional restrictions on US military assistance to Indonesia last November because the administration considers Jakarta a strategic partner in the fight against terrorism.
An international relations expert at the University of Indonesia, Makmur Keliat, said the resumption was driven more by US interests in making Indonesia a more effective partner in fighting terrorism.
"The United States has a strong reason to strengthen the TNI's capability, because a weak TNI can become a source of national and regional instability that eventually would harm US interests in fighting terrorism in the region," Makmur told the Post.
The second reason for lifting the ban on arms sales, according to Makmur, is purely economical, noting that the US was concerned Indonesia could find other source for military weapons.
He said that since the end of the Cold War, the international market has seen an oversupply of military equipment, and therefore letting go of Indonesia was not in the interests of the US
Separately, Suzie Sudarman, director of the Center for American Studies at the University of Indonesia, said Indonesia should use the opportunity of improving military ties with the US to improve its defensive capabilities.
"With increased access to military equipment from the United States, Indonesia will be more confident in anticipating possible regional conflicts," Suzie told the Post.
She said increasing the country's defensive capabilities was important, especially in the face of China's military modernization, which could pose a threat to countries in the region.