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Under $29m funding plan, troops
would be trained to form peacekeeping force to deal with ethnic
and sectarian violence
By Marianne
Kearney
STRAITS TIMES INDONESIA BUREAU
JAKARTA - The United States is
considering a plan to fund Indonesian domestic peacekeepers for
trouble spots like the Malukus and West Papua, under a new
foreign-aid Bill.
If approved, it will be the first
direct US military assistance since Congress banned military ties
after the Indonesian armed forces were implicated in the carnage
in East Timor in 1999.
Under a US$16-million
(S$28.8-million) funding plan being being considered by the House
of Representatives and the Senate, Washington would also fund
counter-terrorism training for the Indonesian police.
A Bill proposing that a special
group of troops be trained and equipped to form a peacekeeping
force to deal with sectarian and ethnic violence was discussed by
legislators this week, said US Embassy sources.
The State Department argued that
'rapid restoration of order will reduce tensions and weaken
extremist groups, thus serving counter-terrorism goals in
Indonesia and beyond', according to documents obtained by Asia
Human Rights Watch.
While Indonesia's military has said
it has not been consulted about such a force, the Defence Ministry
would be keen to back any move which renews military ties with the
US, analysts said.
Defence Minister Matori Abdul
Djalil has just returned from Washington, where he lobbied the
Pentagon and Congress to lift the 1999 ban on military training
and weapons sales to Jakarta.
But US legislators - keen to ensure
the plan does not create an elite unit that could commit
human-rights violations with immunity - have demanded changes to
the proposal, sources close to congressional members said. A new
draft is likely to be discussed by Congress in September.
The idea to provide US$8 million to
train the police in counter-terrorism measures has drawn wide
support.
The US plan has, however, been
criticised by several military analysts here. They said it was not
lack of training but the way the government managed conflicts,
coupled with corruption in the military, that hindered its ability
to quell conflicts quickly.
'The problem is, if such a force
were formed, how would it coordinate with ordinary troops? Because
we often see that conflicts between police and the military, or
within the military, arise over the issue of who is in charge,'
said analyst Kusnanto Anggoro.
Former defence minister Juwono
Sudarsono said that if the US wanted a more professional
Indonesian army, then financial-management training, not combat
training, should be a priority.
The military has admitted in the
past that government funding accounts for only 60 per cent of its
operational budget. The rest is thought to be raised through
businesses and illegal means.
There was also criticism that the
proposal would hinder efforts by reformists to make the police -
not the military - responsible for domestic security. Police often
complain they lack the training and equipment to quell ethnic or
sectarian conflicts.
News of Washington's plan comes as
visiting Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer indicated
that Canberra was discussing renewing high-level military ties -
also suspended after the violence in East Timor.
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