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

Jon Lamb – The recent arrival of West Papuan asylum seekers in northern Australia and the restricted release of the United Nations-commissioned report from the Commission for Reception,

The Australia West Papua Association calls on the new Defence Minister, Brendan Nelson, to re-think the plan to renew ties or train with the Indonesian military and in particular the In

Jakarta – The United States said it was working towards a closer relationship with Indonesia, the world's largest Islamic nation, despite past strains between the two countries.

Damien Kingsbury, Indonesia expert and Associate Professor of International and Political Studies at Deakin University, writes:

Sian Powell, Jakarta – Indonesia's Kopassus special forces have been directly implicated in thousands of human rights violations in East Timor in a new report documenting instances of m

Duncan Graham, Surabaya – The treaty now being negotiated between Australia and Indonesia raises some interesting questions: The foremost is – who benefits?

Tom McCawley, Jakarta – A security pact expected to be signed this year between Indonesia and Australia will mark a formal end to a six-year rift over violence in East Timor and signals

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – An event in the remote Indonesian province of Papua, thousands of kilometers from Washington, seems certain to result in a much stronger position for Jakarta with

Tom Allard – Australia and Indonesia are poised to sign a security treaty that will pave the way for a new era of close relations between the two nations.

Damien Kingsbury, Indonesia expert and Associate Professor of International and Political Studies at Deakin University, writes:

Jakarta – Indonesia will not buy more jet fighters and submarines for 10 years despite the United States lifting its arms embargo on the country, the defense minister said Thursday.

Australia is to resume training Indonesia's most feared Army unit, Kopassus, which has been linked to the murder of New Zealand soldier Private Leonard Manning in Timor, and to human ri

The Indonesia Human Rights Committee has written to the Prime Minister to express its support for her statement made at the East Asia Summit that re-starting military ties with Indonesi

Ben Terrall – As the US empire continues its so-called "war on terror" via blank checks for the military-industrial complex, the Bush Administration recently overrode a congressional ba

Members of the House of Representatives Commission I on defense Permadi and Djoko Susilo examine various types of weaponry belonging to the Army Special Forces (Kopassus) at the unit's

Jakarta – The USA, according to US-Indonesia (USINDO) society President Alphonse Laporta, might impose a new military embargo on Indonesia because every year the Congress has a differen

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Australia has invited Indonesia's special forces Kopassus to join a two-week counterterrorism exercise next year, a move which rights activists say is inconsist

Reporter: Alexandra Kirk

Mark Colvin: There's been a mixed reaction to the Federal Government's decision to resume training with Indonesia's special forces.

Labor says the Government must ensure proper safeguards are in place when Australia resumes training exercises with Indonesia's notorious Kopassus special forces early next year.

Jakarta – Indonesia welcomed Australia's decision Sunday to resume ties with its elite commando unit to help fight terrorism, but human rights activists questioned whether the force had

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar – The Bush administration's decision to drop its arms embargo against Indonesia and resume full military ties fits a pattern of policy failures in East Asia.

Shoeb Kagda, Jakarta – The news last week from Washington that the United States would restore full military ties with Indonesia after a 14-year lapse must have been sweet music to the

Kerryn Williams – On November 22, the US State Department decided to override restrictions on US-Indonesian military ties imposed by Congress less than two weeks earlier.

Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice
US Department of State
2201 C Street, NW Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Rice:

The Asia Pacific Solidarity Coalition (APSOC) is very alarmed that the United States is resuming military ties to Indonesia.

In a surprising and appalling move, the State Department waived all legislated restrictions on US military assistance for Indonesia on November 22.

Meidyatama Suryodiningrat, Jakarta – The decision by the US administration to resume arms sale and military financing to Indonesia is a foreign policy trophy for President Susilo Bamban

Antony Barnett – British military equipment is being used by the Indonesian authorities against civilians in remote parts of the country.

Tiarma Siboro and Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Military analysts cautiously responded to the United States' decision to resume lethal arms sales to Indonesia, warning that Jakarta may become

Mark Forbes in Denpasar and agencies – The US has restored military ties with Indonesia, lifting a 13-year ban imposed due to human rights violations, stating the relationship was of th

The United States has lifted its six year military embargo on Indonesia.

Telly Nathalia and Dean Yates, Jakarta – Indonesia has welcomed the resumption of military relations with the United States while human rights groups expressed concern and said monitori

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono hailed Washington's decision to resume some military aid as marking a new chapter in relations, but other officials and politicians were mo

Chris Brummitt, Jakarta – Indonesia welcomed a US decision to lift a six-year arms embargo to help the mostly Muslim nation fight terrorism, but human rights groups said Wednesday it be

The decision yesterday by the State Department to override Congress-imposed restrictions on US military relations with Indonesia is a grave setback for Indonesian democracy and human ri

Glenn Kessler – Acting swiftly with new congressional authority, the Bush administration said yesterday that it has restored military ties with Indonesia, formally ending the last of th

Rendi A.

US President George W.

The US annual foreign aid bill, H.R. 3057, is now law.

Rendi Witular, Jakarta – The government has expressed guarded optimism that the United States will not extend its 13-year military embargo on Indonesia.

Rendi A.

Indonesia has criticised the United States for stalling efforts to restore full military ties between the two countries because of unresolved murders in its province of Papua.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has criticized United States lawmakers for stalling efforts to restore full military ties between the two countries, calling the move

Jakarta – A human rights group focusing on Indonesia praised the US Congress for keeping a ban on sales of military equipment to Indonesia, whose armed forces have been accused of wides

The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) today praised congressional conferees for agreeing to maintain some restrictions on U.S.

Senator Robert Hill
Minister for Defence
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

31 October 2005

Re: resumption of ties with the Indonesian military.

Jakarta – It is hoped that moves to lift the arms embargo on Indonesia by the United States will be done gradually.

Washington – Indonesia s failure to reform its abusive military makes it essential for the US Congress to maintain its restrictions on US military assistance, Human Rights Watch said to

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) chief says Australia's defence relationship with Indonesia is as good as it has ever been.