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Subject: Proposed resumption of US military training to Indonesia draws
outrage, controversy from Security Sector Reform Resource
Center
Proposed resumption of US military training to Indonesia draws outrage,
controversy
BY:
JESSICA TEEPLE | INDONESIA | JUN 8, 2010
President Obama is expected to travel to Indonesia in the
near future to discuss, among other topics, renewing US-backed
military training for the Indonesian special forces unit, the
Kopassus (?Komando Pasukan
Khusus? or ?Special Force Command?). Below are five key controversies
that continually appear in news reports and commentaries about this
topic.
Controversy #1: No legal accountability for past human rights
violations.
The Kopassus has not faced legal accountability for the many human
rights violations it has committed. Amnesty International USA
reports that ?despite promises by the Indonesian government, despite
repeated assurances by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
during visits to the United States, Kopassus officers involved in
serious human rights crimes have never been brought to legal
accountability.? The few soldiers who have faced military tribunals have
been reinstated into the
ranks and promoted.
Controversy #2: US law bans training the Kopassus.
In the United States, the
Leahy law enacted
in 1997, bars US training of foreign military units with a history of
human rights violations. In 2005 when then-President Bush looked to
waive that ban to train Indonesian military troops, the State
Department?s legal counsel ruled that the Leahy law was still applicable
and the training did not go
forward. Now President Obama is working to reverse the ban and train
younger members of the Kopassus. The Obama administration argues that
this is acceptable because young
members did not play a part in past human rights violations.
Controversy #3: Human rights violations are not a thing of the past.
Recently, it was discovered
that during 2009, the Indonesian armed forces secretly assassinated a
series of civilian activists. Reporter Allan Nairn, who unearthed the
story using official sources, is now
facing possible arrest in Jakarta for reporting the story. Given
these recent events, no members of the Kopassus can be considered exempt
from human right violations now.
Controversy #4: Indonesian counter-terrorism efforts will lose
momentum.
The US has applauded Indonesia?s success in fighting terrorism, but
it is the police who perform the major role, not the military. The
national coordinator of the East Timor Action Network (ETAN), John M.
Miller argues that
?US support for greater Indonesian military involvement [in
counter-terrorism] will only undercut the police, strengthen the
military internal, territorial role and further undermine reform.?
Miller also argues that US military assistance will set back the small
advancements in human rights and security sector reform, especially
military reform.
Controversy #5: Obama has a special connection to Indonesia.
Many people writing about the US resuming training of the Indonesian
army highlight that Obama?s family links and his experience living in
Indonesia for a few years as a boy provide him with a special connection
to Indonesia and its people. But,
they warn,
Indonesia now is very different from the Indonesia under Suharto he knew
as a boy. Generally, it seems people are worried that Obama?s special
connection to Indonesia will cloud his judgment politically as he works
to undo the Leahy law and resume training for the Kopassus.
Want to know more? Read
Human Rights Watch's letter to Obama, read Kristen Sundell?s
personal
interaction with the Indonesian military, and browse the
East Timor and Indonesia Action Network
(specifically here,
here, and
here).
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