Home > South-East Asia >> Indonesia

US Congress maintains restrictions on military and IMET assistance for Indonesia

ETAN Press Release - November 21, 2004

The US Congress agreed yesterday to renew bans on International Military Education and Training (IMET) and foreign military financing (FMF) for Indonesia.

Congress agreed to continue to bar grants of military equipment through the FMF program and on licenses for export of lethal equipment until certain conditions are met. The legislature also extended the ban on IMET until the State Department determines that the Indonesian armed forces and government are cooperating with the FBI's investigation into the murder of US citizens in West Papua.

"These restrictions on IMET and FMF sends an important message to Indonesia that Congress believes military reform and accountability are key to democratic progress in Indonesia," said John M. Miller, spokesperson for the East Timor Action Network (ETAN). "We hope Indonesia's new government listens."

ETAN urged Congress to expand the conditions on resumption of IMET and extend conditionality to counter-terrorism training, which is funded under different legislation. "Congress should apply the same conditions on IMET and other military training that it has imposed on FMF," Miller said.

"Indonesia has yet to fulfill conditions previously placed on IMET, including accountability for rights violations in East Timor and Indonesia and transparency in the military budget. In fact, the military continues to systematically violate human rights, especially in Aceh and West Papua. Many of those indicted for crimes against humanity in East Timor continue to maintain powerful positions," he said.

The bill provides $6 million for the Indonesian Navy for "maritime security." Release of these funds is conditioned on certification that the Navy is not "committing gross violations of human rights" and is cooperating with civilian investigations and prosecution of human rights violations. The bill now goes to the President for his signature.

Background

Congress first voted to restrict Indonesia from receiving IMET, which brings foreign military officers to the US for training, in response to the November 12, 1991 Santa Cruz massacre of more than 270 civilians in East Timor by Indonesian troops wielding US supplied M-16 rifles. All military ties with Indonesia were severed in September 1999 as the Indonesian military (TNI) and its militia proxies razed East Timor.

For fiscal year 2004, Congress banned IMET after a contentious debate on a bill passed in January until the State Department determines that the Indonesian military and government are cooperating with the FBI's investigation of the 2002 ambush.

Although one West Papuan has been indicted in the US for the murders in Timika, a number of congressional offices have insisted that the condition on IMET should remain in place until the investigation is completed and those responsible for the attack are brought to justice. Indonesia has yet to indict anyone in the killings. The TNI has been implicated in the August 2002 attack in the mining concession of Louisiana-based Freeport-McMoRan, which also killed an Indonesian and wounded 11 people, including a six-year-old child.

The conditions on FMF are similar to those passed by Congress last year and include a call for budget transparency by the TNI and presidential certification that the Indonesian government is prosecuting members of the armed forces accused of rights violations or aiding militia groups and punishing those guilty of such acts.

The TNI must cooperate with international efforts to bring human violators to justice. Three-quarters of those indicted by UN Security Council-mandated Serious Crimes Unit in East Timor currently reside in Indonesia. A number of indicted senior military and police officials and militia are active in military operations in Aceh and West Papua.

The Indonesian navy is often viewed as having a better human rights record than the army. However, navy ships were integral to the massive, well-planned Indonesian military operation which systematically destroyed East Timor and forcibly transported a third of the population out of the territory in 1999. In July 1998, navy personnel massacred peaceful demonstrators in Biak, West Papua, and then dumped their bodies at sea.

This crime has never been investigated. Marines are active in military operations in Aceh, where numerous human rights violations have occurred.

Recently, an Indonesian naval vessel threatened and chased a tourist dive boat well within East Timor's waters. East Timor's Minister for Internal Administration, Rogerio Lobato, said Indonesian warships regularly violate Timor's waters. Last December, an Indonesian warship shelled a small disputed island off East Timor's enclave of Oecussi.

On November 11, 2004, 16 East Timorese groups urged the US Congress to end all assistance to the Indonesian military and to work for justice for victims of past human rights crimes. The groups wrote that Congress should "provide leadership by ending all assistance to the military which so damaged our country... Restrictions on military aid are essential to efforts to end impunity for the horrendous crimes committed in East Timor....

The more powerful and unaccountable the Indonesian military remains, the slimmer the chances for stability and democracy in Indonesia."

The appropriations bill also renews a general restriction on training units of security forces where the Secretary of State "has credible evidence that such unit has committed gross violations of human rights."

The bill also provides $22,000,000 in economic assistance for East Timor, well above the administration's budget request.

ETAN advocates for democracy, justice and human rights for East Timor and Indonesia. ETAN calls for an international tribunal to prosecute crimes against humanity that took place in East Timor since 1975 and continued restrictions on US military assistance to Indonesia until there is genuine reform of its security forces.