Indonesia welcomes renewed US military ties
Wed Nov 23, 2005
By Telly Nathalia and Dean Yates
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia has welcomed the resumption of military relations with the United States while human rights groups expressed concern and said monitoring of the armed forces would need to be tightened.
The United States restored military ties on Tuesday with the world's most populous Muslim nation as a reward for Jakarta's cooperation in the war on terrorism, U.S. State Department officials said.
"We certainly warmly welcome this decision, whatever the reason is," Abdul Azis Manaf, a spokesman for the Indonesian Defense Ministry, said on Wednesday.
The Indonesian military was unable to comment yet because it was waiting for a more formal announcement from the U.S. government, possibly from President George W. Bush, a spokesman said. He did not elaborate.
Washington cut back military ties after Indonesian troops shot at demonstrators in East Timor in 1991, killing dozens, when the tiny territory was ruled by Jakarta.
Ties were severed after pro-Jakarta militias backed by elements in the military sacked East Timor in 1999 when the territory voted for independence. The United Nations estimates the militias killed around 1,000 Timorese.
Washington's move comes despite objections from rights groups who say Jakarta has done too little to reform the military and bring it under civilian control since the downfall of the military-backed regime of ex-autocrat Suharto in 1998.
Zamrotin Susilo, deputy chairman of Indonesia's National Human Rights Commission, expressed concern that weapons bought from the United States could be used against civilians.
"What is important is to be on guard against the experiences of the past, where weapons were used to violate human rights abuses," he said.
Ken Conboy, an expert on the Indonesian military, said the armed forces, known as TNI, would be pleased with the decision.
He said because of financial constraints, Jakarta's generals would seek military aid for purchases and especially training.
"TNI has wanted this for a while. They wanted to escape their pariah status," he said.
"There is a whole bunch of places you can go to buy hardware these days, but with the Cold War over people aren't giving friendship prices and Indonesia doesn't have the money for the high-ticket items that it once did," he said.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a former general, and the country's military chief, both received training in the United States.
The United States has also traditionally been a major supplier of arms and fighter planes to Indonesia.
U.S. officials on Tuesday defended Washington's decision, saying Indonesia had made greater efforts to bring justice for the violence in East Timor and had improved the country's democratic credentials and human rights record.
They also said that while the decision allowed the export of lethal weapons, Washington would be looking at Indonesia's rights record in determining whether to go ahead with sales.
"Indonesia is a voice of moderation in the Islamic world," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.
Straddling vital shipping routes, Indonesia performs a delicate balancing act between Washington and a populace that opposes America's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The decision follows agreements earlier in the year to allow exports of non-lethal equipment and revive a small military training program, known as IMET.
(Additional reporting by Saul Hudson in Washington)
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