Dear NIHAC members,

NIHAC has actively followed events in East Timor since before their
decisive referendum on independence 5 years ago. Sadly, neither
Indonesial nor the international community has brought to justice any of
the perpetrators of the 1999 scorched-earth disaster that the retreating
Indonesian forces and their militias carried out after the results of the
referendum were announced.

Now the US government may have decided to renounce the ban on military aid
to Indonesia - see below. I propose that NIHAC sign on to the letter to
Secretary Powell supporting a continuation of the ban.

Mary Anne Mercer


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 01 Sep 2004 16:19:48 -0400
From: Karen Orenstein <etanorganize@...>
To: undisclosed-recipients: ;
Subject: Request for Organization Signature on Letter to Ban Indonesian
Military Assistance

Friends -

ETAN has recently learned of alarming State Department plans to budget
foreign military financing (FMF) for Indonesia in 2006. FMF has been
banned for Indonesia since 2000 because of the Indonesian military's
scorched-earth campaign in East Timor in 1999. Not a single Indonesian
officer has been brought to justice for the crimes against humanity
committed then, and the military continues to commit heinous rights
violations with impunity throughout the archipelago.

Since the final decision on inclusion of FMF in the 2006 State
Department budget has not yet been made, this is our chance to take
pre-emptive action! Please join us in sending a resounding message to
the Bush administration that we say "NO" to its attempt to prop up the
brutal Indonesian military!! You can do so by adding your
organization's name to the following NGO sign-on letter (also attached)
to Secretary of State Colin Powell.

The deadline for the letter is Friday, September 10. Please email me
your name, title, and organization to sign on. While we appreciate the
support of individuals, this letter is only open to U.S.-based
organizations.

For those less unfamiliar with FMF, the Center for International Policy
provides the following explanation:
The Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program provides grants and loans
to help countries purchase U.S.-produced weapons, defense equipment,
defense services and military training. FMF funds purchases made through
the Foreign Military Sales (FMS <fms.htm>) program, which manages
government-to-government sales. On a much less frequent basis, FMF also
funds purchases made through the Direct Commercial Sales (DCS <dcs.htm>)
program, which oversees sales between foreign governments and private
U.S. companies. FMF does not provide cash grants to other countries; it
generally pays for sales of specific goods or services through FMS or DCS.
For more info, see http://www.ciponline.org/facts/fmf.htm.

Thank you for your continued support for human rights protections of the
peoples of East Timor and Indonesia.

In solidarity,
Karen Orenstein
East Timor Action Network
//////////////////////////////////

September x, 2004

Dear Secretary Powell:

We, the undersigned, are deeply concerned over reported plans by the
Department of State to furnish foreign military financing (FMF) for
Indonesia in the Administration's FY06 budget request. We strongly
oppose any consideration of FMF for Indonesia at this juncture.

Opposition to FMF for Indonesia, broadly shared in Congress, is based on
the Indonesian military's (TNI) continuing record of human rights abuses
and impunity. Your own department's annual human rights reports to
Congress, as well as reporting by international NGOs, reveal the TNI as
an unreformed violator of human rights. Reflecting this broad consensus
among observers of the TNI, Congress has restricted FMF for Indonesia
since FY 2000, conditioning its provision on accountability and justice
for the military's gross human rights violations. However, military
impunity remains solidly ingrained as a consequence of the TNI's
undemocratic power, as well as the weakness and corruption of
Indonesia's courts and prosecutorial system.

In August, an appeals court in Indonesia overturned the convictions of
four Indonesian military and police officers charged with crimes against
humanity in East Timor in 1999. Commendably, the State Department noted
that it was "profoundly disappointed with the performance and record of
the Indonesian ad hoc tribunal," the special institution that was
created in the wake of the murder of more than 1,400 East Timorese by
Indonesian security forces and their hireling militias. Only two of the
18 defendants brought before the tribunal have been convicted and had
their sentences upheld under appeal. Both are East Timorese. A similar
Indonesian tribunal formed to ensure military accountability for the
1984 massacre of Muslim protesters at Tanjung Priok in Jakarta also
recently failed to deliver justice.

Emboldened by assurance of its impunity, the Indonesian military
continues to violate human rights on a daunting scale. Notwithstanding
an end to martial law in Aceh, TNI operations continue to exact a bloody
toll at the same pace set during martial law. Human rights and
humanitarian organizations, journalists and others continue to face
insurmountable barriers to gaining access to and functioning in Aceh.
Following the TNI's self-proclaimed "exoneration" after the U.S.
Department of Justice's recent indictment for the murder and serious
wounding of U.S. citizens in Timika in August 2002, human rights and
humanitarian organizations in West Papua report increased intimidation
by the TNI and its militias.

Congress has also conditioned FMF for Indonesia on transparency in the
military's budget. The TNI remains a massively corrupt institution. In
the report accompanying the Senate Foreign Operations Appropriations for
FY03, the Appropriations Committee stated that they were "...concerned
about the Indonesian military's continued involvement in illegal
business practices and other activities, including prostitution,
contraband smuggling, and illegal logging which threatens Indonesia's
unique ecosystems."

Regardless of the outcome of the September 20 presidential election
run-off, it is very unlikely that, in the short term, any civilian
government can reverse the trend of an increasingly powerful military.
President Megawati has consistently demonstrated an inability or
unwillingness to control the TNI. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was a career
soldier, a Suharto-era general who served as a commander in East Timor
in the 1980s. There is near unanimous agreement inside Indonesia and out
that military reform is dead. The military bill now before parliament is
likely to even further solidify its dominance in Indonesia.

Indonesian advocates for democracy, human rights and military reform
have publicly urged that the U.S. not reward the TNI with assistance and
improved ties absent demonstrable progress toward genuine reform and
justice for rights violations. Risking - and in some instances
experiencing - acts of revenge by the Indonesian military, they have
repeatedly described restrictions on U.S.-Indonesia military
cooperation, including the ban on FMF, as critical leverage in their
efforts. Moving forward with FMF would break faith with those struggling
for democratic reform in Indonesia. It would additionally weaken the
hand of the civilian government vis-à-vis an Indonesian military whose
reputation would only be burnished by increased U.S. engagement.

Provision of FMF for Indonesia in FY06 would exacerbate ongoing
violations and corruption by rewarding such behavior. It is imprudent
and unjustified.

We thank you for your serious consideration of this most important
matter and look forward to your response.

Sincerely,