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Human rights activists and some members of the U.S. Congress recently voiced concern over reports that the Pentagon is resuming ties with the Indonesian military. According to these reports, the Indonesian air force sent observers last month to the Cobra Gold military exercise in Thailand involving U.S., Thai, and Singaporean troops. The Pentagon has also invited the Indonesian navy and marines to participate in a bilateral exercise to be conducted by the U.S. Navy in July. "It's very disturbing that they've started this again," said Miriam A. Young, executive director of the Asia Pacific Center for Justice and Peace, an education and advocacy group in Washington, D.C., that receives funding from the General Board of Global Ministries. "The overall message that it gives is that basically the U.S. approves the changes that have been made and considers them sufficient. And they are not sufficient." Young contends that the political clout of the Indonesian military has not been reduced at the local level. She cited reports that human rights violations continue to be committed by Indonesian soldiers in Aceh and Ambon provinces. She also mentioned a recent attack by pro-Indonesian East Timorese on the office of Solidamor in Jakarta, in which four activists were badly injured and office equipment was destroyed while Indonesian soldiers watched from a distance. Solidamor has been a center for disseminating information and building solidarity in Indonesia for the people of East Timor. Meanwhile, in a letter to President Clinton, 14 U.S. Representatives asserted that premature resumption of military ties would send the wrong signal to members of the Indonesian military still unwilling to accept accountability and civilian control. The representatives, led by House International Relations Committee chair Benjamin A. Gilman, urged the Clinton administration to comply with legislation prohibiting military assistance, including military education and training, to the armed forces of Indonesia. The law contained in section 589 of the Foreign Operations Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2000 ruled that a prohibition on military assistance must remain in force until certain human rights conditions are met. Such conditions include bringing to justice human rights violators and providing safe passage for refugees returning to East Timor. The United States suspended its military relationship with Indonesia in September 1999 in response to carnage and atrocities committed by pro-Indonesia militias backed by Indonesian soldiers in East Timor. The August 30 vote for independence in East Timor unleashed violence that was reported to have destroyed 70 percent of the East Timorese infrastructure, killed hundreds, and caused massive evacuations into West Timor and other outlying provinces of Indonesia. On May 24, State Department official Philip Reeker acknowledged the presence of Indonesian observers at the Cobra Gold exercise and the authorization of Indonesian participation in an upcoming exercise. "We had informed interested members of Congress of those decisions which, let me stress again, were not part of a change in our fundamental policy," Reeker said. Reeker also said that the Indonesian government has shown that it is pursuing reform and establishing civilian control over the military. That congressional opposition to any resumption of military relations with Indonesia remains strong is evident from the introduction of H.R. 4357 in the House and S. 2621 in the Senate. Both bills would require the continuance of the prohibition until certain conditions in East Timor have been met. "The simple fact remains no one has yet been held accountable in a court of law for the acts committed by the military and militias in East Timor last year," said Senator Russell Feingold as he introduced the Senate bill he sponsored. Feingold also expressed his concern over the plight of some 100,000 East Timorese refugees in West Timor, who are still being intimidated by militia groups and being prevented from returning to their homes. During its 2000 General Conference in Cleveland, Ohio, The United Methodist Church passed a resolution calling on the U.S. government and the United Nations "to take all steps within their respective powers to reduce the suffering of the East Timorese people, remove the forces responsible for their slaughter and bring them to justice in an international war crimes tribunal, immediately safeguard and account for all refugees within East and West Timor and elsewhere in Indonesia, provide for safe return of the refugees, restore . . . self-determination to East Timor, and facilitate the rebuilding of East Timor as an independent nation." June 5, 2000 | Top | Global Connections: Indonesia / East Timor | |