Homeland Security

DATE=3/31/2004

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=CONGRESS/INDONESIA (L-O)

NUMBER=2-314654

BYLINE=DAN ROBINSON

DATELINE= CAPITOL HILL

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: In testimony to Congress, U-S military officials have reaffirmed their commitment to working with Indonesia in the fight against terror. But they also say there must be a resolution of the controversial question of suspected Indonesian military involvement in the killing of two American citizens in 2002. V-O-A's Dan Robinson reports.

TEXT: The still incomplete investigation into the deaths of two Americans and an Indonesian, and the wounding of 11 other people in Indonesia's West Papua province has been a problem in bilateral relations since the incident in 2002.

An F-B-I report has implicated members of Indonesia's military in the killings, which took place on a portion of an Indonesian military-controlled road to a mine owned by a U-S company.

The issue is important because U-S military education training funds, known as I-M-E-T, have been in suspension with Congress pressing for a resolution of the killings before reauthorizing the education funds for Indonesia.

In Wednesday's hearing of the House Armed Services Committee, Admiral Thomas Fargo, who heads the U-S Pacific Command, said he supports the requirement for "full accountability" for the incident:

/// FARGO ACT ///

I have talked directly to (Army Chief of Staff) General Sutarto and he has assured me that if this investigation shows that there are members of the T-N-I (Indonesian military) that took part in this attack, that he is going to hold them completely accountable and there will be the kind of discipline that we would expect would be very proper in this particular situation.

/// END ACT ///

Congressman Joel Hefley is a Republican from Colorado who introduced an amendment last year effectively suspending IMET funds for Indonesia:

/// HEFLEY ACT ///

Well I hope you will hold him accountable for that offer of cooperation because this is something that we can't allow to go unpunished it seems to me.

/// END ACT ///

Indonesian cooperation in the fight against terror was also a focus of the hearing (Wednesday) of the House Armed Services Committee.

Calling Southeast Asia a "crucial front" in that battle, Admiral Fargo recalled the 2002 terrorist bombing in Bali as well as one in Jakarta in 2003. Indonesia, he said, is critical to stability in Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region in general.

However, he had to respond to other lawmaker's questions about continuing reports of human rights violations involving Indonesia's military. Admiral Fargo said while Indonesia's military needs to be held accountable, there are signs of improvement:

/// FARGO ACT ///

In the last year, legislation has been passed that takes the T-N-I (military) out of the political scene in Indonesia, and after this election that is coming up in April they won't have any seats in the assembly. The chief of defense of the T-N-I, in fact, is not going to allow the T-N-I to vote in this election, not because he wants to set a precedent but because he wants to make sure that they steer clear of politics in this upcoming election.

/// END ACT ///

/// OPT /// Admiral Fargo points to what he calls "signs" that the Indonesian army has undertaken significant human rights training, particularly in relation to the situation in Aceh. And he adds:

/// FARGO ACT ///

Our role, I think, is to serve as a model for the T-N-I, to make sure that we help bring them along on this path to reform, so they understand the rule of law, the proper role of a military in a democracy, and that they can develop as an institution in a manner that will properly serve their people.

/// END ACT /// /// END OPT ///

U-S military education training funds for Indonesia has been limited in the past to about 400-thousand dollars a year. U-S officials and the Bush administration say education for members of the Indonesian military in rule of law and democracy-building, can also help cooperation in the war on terror. (signed)

NEB/DAR/MEM/RH