BBC: US Restores Jakarta Military Link; and
US Unblocks Foreign Military Financing for Indonesia

U.S. Restores Indonesia Military Ties, Officials Say

By Saul Hudson

WASHINGTON, Nov. 23 (Reuters) - Washington restored military ties on Tuesday with Indonesia as a reward for the most-populous Muslim nation's cooperation against al Qaeda-linked militants, State Department officials said.

The move comes despite objections from human rights groups that say Indonesia has done too little to punish offenders for the violence in East Timor in 1999 that led to the cooler U.S.-Indonesian military ties.

But the U.S. officials defended the decision, saying the government had made greater efforts to bring justice for the violence and had improved the country's democratic credentials and human rights record.

They also said that while Tuesday's decision allowed the export of lethal weapons to Indonesia, Washington would still be looking at its rights record in determining whether to go ahead with any sales to the vast archipelago.

"Indonesia is a voice of moderation in the Islamic world," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement on the decision. "Indonesia has made significant progress in advancing its democratic institutions and practices in a relatively short time."

The decision follows agreements earlier in the year to allow exports of nonlethal equipment and revive a small military training program.

"They have increasingly become a key partner for us in counterterrorism," said a State Department official, who asked not to be named because he was elaborating on McCormack's statement.

"This normalization and the ability to work with Indonesia allows us to prod them into taking more steps on the democratic path and in improving their military regarding rights issues," he added.

Indonesia has suffered a spate of militant bombings and last year was devastated by the Indian Ocean tsunami.

Straddling vital shipping routes, Indonesia performs a delicate balancing act between Washington and a opulace that opposes America's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

But President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a U.S.-trained former general who last year became his country's first directly elected president, had lobbied Washington for ties to be restored during a visit in May.

The United States "will help modernize the Indonesian military, provide further incentives for reform of the Indonesian military, and support U.S. and Indonesian security objectives, including counterterrorism, maritime
security and disaster relief," McCormack said.

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British Broadcasting Corporation
November 22, 2005

US Restores Jakarta Military Link

photo: Ties have warmed between Washington and Jakarta. APThe US is to restore military ties with Indonesia in light of "significant progress in advancing its democratic institutions", a spokesman has said.

The US partially lifted a ban on military sales to Indonesia in the spring when its president visited.

Human rights groups attacked that move, saying that despite efforts to make Indonesia's military more accountable, its rights record was unsatisfactory.

The US cut military ties with Indonesia in 1992 over its actions in East Timor.

The Indonesian army killed more than 200 protesters in East Timor that year.

The embargo was tightened seven years later when the military unsuccessfully attempted to prevent East Timor's people voting to split from Indonesia.

Support

"Indonesia is a voice of moderation in the Islamic world," state department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement quoted by the Reuters news agency.

The US described its partial lifting of the arms embargo in May as a reward for the improvements Indonesia has made in curbing the abuses of its military.

Washington maintained a block on the sale of weapons at the time.

It is not clear if Tuesday's announcement completely lifts the ban.

The warming relationship between Washington and Jakarta has been driven by both President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's reformist programme and Indonesia's position on the front line in the war on terror.

Although Indonesia - with the largest Muslim population in the world - is no supporter of the war in Iraq, it has come down hard on its home-grown Islamic militants, and has co-operated well with the US on other joint
threats.

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US Unblocks Foreign Military Financing for Indonesia

WASHINGTON, Nov. 22 (AFP) - The United States announced it would resume military financing aid for Indonesia as another step towards normalizing defense ties with the predominantly Muslim Southeast Asian nation.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Washington planned "to provide assistance for specific military programs and units that will help modernize the Indonesian military."

He said resumption of Foreign Military Financing, suspended with other aid over human rights and other concerns, would help boost anti-terrorism efforts, maritime security and disaster relief.

McCormack did not give any further details and officials said no dollar amount had yet been determined for the FMF program, which provides outright grants for the purchase of materiel.

The announcement followed moves earlier this year by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to renew military ties with the world's most populous Muslim nation, which helps guard strategic Asian sea lanes.

"It continues the process of military reengagement with Indonesia that included the secretary's decision to resume International Military Education and Training (IMET) in February, and her decision to resume non-lethal Foreign Military Sales (FMS) in May," McCormack said.

The move was also in line with the agreement by US President George W. Bush and his Indonesian counterpart Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at a White House summit in May to work for normal defense relations.

US military dealings with Indonesia have been restricted since 1991 when Jakarta's forces launched a bloody crackdown on pro-independence protesters in East Timor. Sanctions were tightened after a new wave of violence there in 1999.

The United States had also made it clear that full normalization of military relations was contingent on the Indonesian authorities' efforts to solve the killing of two American teachers in 2002.

But in January, Washington allowed commercial sales of nonlethal defense items to Indonesia, particularly spare parts for transport planes needed for relief operations after the killer tsunami that hit in December 2004.

Washington then decided to restore the IMET training program and later marked the May summit by lifting a ban on thegovernment's sale of non-lethal defense equipment to Indonesia.

McCormack said Tuesday the Americans attached "the utmost importance" to their ties to Indonesia and the decision on foreign military financing was made "in the national security interests of the United States."

The spokesman said Jakarta had "made significant progress in advancing its democratic institutions and practices in a relatively short time."

But he added, "The US remains committed to pressing for accountability for past human rights abuses, and US assistance will continue to be guided by Indonesia's progress on democratic reform and accountability."