AWPA Newsletter
No. 25 February 2002
______________________________________________________
Australia West Papua Association, Sydney
PO Box 65, Millers Point, NSW 2000

AWPA welcomes articles for the newsletter on any issue in relation to West Papua. The reports in the newsletter are from the various email conferences on West Papua. AWPA appreciates any donations of support to help in its campaign work.

Local news

AWPA would like to thank all who have responded to the recent urgent actions (and send us copies of their letters) concerning the death threats to human rights defenders in West Papua. We also encourage people to respond to media articles. The profile of West Papua can be raised through the letter pages of our papers. If no letters are received it may be taken by editorial staff to mean that there is no interest in the issue. Kel’s letter ‘West Papua waits’ (below), is a good example of responding to a series of articles run in the Australian.

A request.
David Bridie who released an EP ‘act of free choice’ last year and donated royalties from this EP to Els-Ham, is after any good quality recording of traditional or stringband music from West Papua to assemble the compilation of a record. If anybody can help or for further information contact David at <dbridie@bigpond.net.au>.

AWPA Adelaide

WEST PAPUAN ART EXHIBITION

Fri 5th April, 7-9 pm. 65 Woodville Rd, Woodville
Australian West Papuan Assn- Adelaide presents an exhibition comprising photographs and artifacts from personal collections covering issues such as Culture, Environment and Political events. Dr Jacob Rumbiak , an Independence leader from West Papua , will be speaking at the event at 7.45pm. on the topic of recent events surrounding the Indonesian decision to grant greater autonomy to the region. And also on the murder of the West Papua President Theys Eluay and the current situation.
Light refreshments of a glass of wine/orange juice and cheeses will be provided entry by donation $10 waged/ $5 low income
Please contact either Dave Arkins on 83454480 (h) or Andrew Derrington on 83401847 for further details. Any further contributions to the exhibit will be welcomed


2nd Asia Pacific International Solidarity Conference: March 29 - April 1, 2002
Sydney Boys High School, Moore Park Surry Hills, Sydney , Australia
Global Revolt — Global Links
End war, racism, world poverty: a conference of global solidarity
The conference is being organised by the Asia Pacific Institute for Democratisation and Development. The conference secretariat in Australia is presently based in the national office of the Democratic Socialists, who will also be participants at the conference.
Conference launch & rally on Thursday, March 28 at 7:00 pm)
Contact: Phone (02) 9690 1230 - Email APISC_Sydney@yahoo.com

Letter: West Papua waits

THANK you for the excellent series of articles on West Papua last week (28/1).
West Papua shares with PNG the position of being Australia's closest neighbour, yet the brutal repression of people by the Indonesian military, has been virtually ignored in Australia for more than 40 years. Since 1960, when Indonesia invaded West Papua after the Dutch refused to hand it over to President Sukarno, an estimated 400,000 people have
been killed or have disappeared (according to Papuan church figures). Papuans have been denied their legitimate right to an act of self-determination. For the past 12 years, Papuans have sought to pursue a path of peaceful dialogue, but the Indonesian Government refuses to talk. Its military and police continue their horrific acts of brutality against innocent women, children and men. I hope The Australian will continue to bring us news from our nearest neighbour. (Australia West Papua Assoc Melbourne, Vic)

LASKAR JIHAD IS TARGETING PAPUA

(Jayapura, 12 March 2002)
Following the two previous ELSHAM Papua reports on Jihad militias activities in Sorong and Fak- Fak (respectively on 20 January and 7 March 2002) below are more analytical view on the development of the issue.

Emerging reports as to the tangible presence of the Islamic militant Laskar Jihad or Jihad militias in a number of areas in Papua should be of great concern. In the wake of ethnic conflict settlements in Maluku and Poso the Jihad militias are believed to be ready to launch a grand strike. And reliable documents (DEPDAGRI Secret Document, 8 June 2000, resulting in the death of Theys Eluay; Operation Sadar Matoa Document; Barisan Merah Putih Document; and the Document issued by the Baliem Valley Foundation and support from BIN (National Intelligent Agency) sponsoring the recent visit of 200 Papuans to Jakarta) are pointing to Papua being the next target as what already occurred in Ambon, North Maluku, Poso, and Kalimantan.

Infiltration and the spread of Jihad militias into Papua began in year 2001. There is strong indication, as revealed in the leaked Jihad document, that the planned visit of President Megawati Soekarno Putri on 31 March will be disrupted by this organization by murdering a prominent Muslim leader which they hope could spark conflict, thus inciting a religious war . This document stated there are now around 3000 Jihad members in Papua. A report published in the Journal Media Dakwah Umat Islam, Jakarta 30 November 2001, with the headline “ Revival of Islam in Papua”. Four articles were written on this subject : (1) Papuan Muslims Do Not Support Rebellious Movement Of Theys, (2) Abdul Rachman Kossay, a tribal leader of Wamena, ashamed of wearing Koteka after his conversion into Islam, (3) Theys Hiyo Eluay is scared of us, (4) Knocking on the hearts of the Muslims. The report in fact discussed and reject the independence movement in Papua in stead of revival of Islam in Wamena. Being one of the 13 regencies of Papua, Wamena can not be claimed to represent the whole Papuans who by majority are Christians.

The fundamental teachings of Jihad convey that Jihad is the last resort to defending truth and justice. Even if violence is to resort to. There are no strong and valid reasons for Jihad militias to disrupt the already stable and peaceful situation in Papua, especially the religious harmony between the Christians and Muslims. If Jihad members insist on generating conflicts in Papua, then whose interests are they conveying? Already one Jihad militias commander in Makasar admitted to an AFP journalist in February 2002 that the purpose of sending the Jihad militias to Papua is to assist TNI in fighting the Papuan separatists.

If the Jihad organization wishes to wage war against the Papuan independence movement then this can be regarded as betraying the religious values of Islam, that is by letting itself to fall into the tricky ruse of the Indonesian military. When inter-religious conflicts occur in
Papua, the Indonesian military will use this as a pretext to exterminate the Papuans who are pro Independence regardless of their religious background (Muslims and Christians alike).

Reports sent in by reliable ELSHAM Papua sources stated that infiltration of Jihad militias into the entire Papua started 2001. These militias are easily identified by, their white head band, long white clothing covering most of their bodies coupled with Osama Bin Laden style-beards. Some have foreign looks/ appearances. There are currently four prominent Jihad militias bases in four regencies of Papua : Fak Fak, Sorong, Manokwari, and Biak. At the moment Jihad militias run a clandestine operation. They maintain an provincial representative branch office in Sorong, under the name “Ahlus Sunnah Waal Jamah”. The headquarter of Jihad militias is in Jogjakarta with Umar Jafar Thalib as the supreme commander. In general the activities of Jihad militias are :

1. Undertaking military trainings and black magic for their members, including producing and distributing hand-made guns and bombs
2. Inciting hatred against Christians, either in mosques or at public gatherings.

The objectives the Jihad operation in Papua : (1) Being regarded as Kaffir, Papuan Christians should be converted into Islam (cited in www.laskarjihad.or.id, last year), (2) the Jihad militias view Papuan Christians as pro independence, consequently should be crushed.

Judging from their activities and the developments surrounding them as already occurred in other parts of Indonesia, the realities can be described as followed : (a) the Jihad militias have become the tools of the Indonesian military to carry out their objectives,
(b) concentration of Jihad militias in Papua, notably the easternmost province of Indonesia, plus its adjacent proximity to Pacific region, will make it (Papua) the ideal/ strategic basis for its operation into the region. The intention of the central government to divide Papua into three provinces should be regarded with suspicion. Papua will be weak in all considerations. Influx of Indonesians into these three territories will outnumber the mere 2 millions Papuans. Forces like Jihad will easily gain stronghold. Other evil forces under the same umbrella will no doubt follow suit. There are strong indications that Jihad militias have already infiltrated into other regions of Papua such as Jayapura, Yapen Waropen, and Merauke. So far no serious measures area taken by the authorities to deal with this kind development in Papua. (Elsham news service)

Papuan leaders cleared off all charges

R.K. Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura
A district court in the easternmost province of Papua acquitted on Monday three proindependence leaders of the Papua Presidium Council, who had been tried on charges of subversion. The three, Papua Presidium moderator Reverend Herman Awom, member Don Al Flassy and secretary-general Thaha Al Hamid, were greeted by a hundred supporters outside the Jayapura District Court after the acquittal. Council deputy chairman Tom Beanal, who is also chairman of the Papuan Communal Council replacing the late Theys Eluay, welcomed them by giving them stone axes and bracelets. "This is our traditional way of expressing our thanks," he said, adding that the verdicts indicated that the Papuans would be granted freedom to express their opinion and feelings.

The three and the other two -- Theys and John Mambor -- were charged with subversion over the holding of a Papua People's Congress in May and June 2000, which ended with a statement affirming Papua's independence. The case against Theys was dropped following his death in mid-November. Meanwhile, John Mambor is currently ill in hospital. Prosecutors had demanded the court sentence the three to 2.5 years in jail -- far lower than the minimum of 20 years in jail, as demanded by article 106 of the criminal code. Presiding judge Edward Sinaga, who read the verdict, contended that the three could not be sentenced to imprisonment because they had organized the congress with the full knowledge and support of the local and central governments.

Then president Abdurrahman Wahid himself gave the organizers Rp 1 billion (US$98,000) to help finance the congress, the judge said. The court summoned Abdurrahman to testify before the court, but he failed to answer the summons. Monday's court session, attended by many informal Papuan leaders, including Theys' widow Erika, was guarded by around 30 policemen. After the court session, prosecutors left the courtroom immediately, without making any comment to reporters. Don Al Flassy, who waved a small "morning star" independence flag inside the court a few minutes before the verdict was read, said after the session that his acquittal only strengthened his commitment to continuing his efforts to "straighten the history of Papua."

Thaha supported Don's statement, stressing that their struggle would be pursued through peaceful means. Defendant lawyer Anton Raharusun described the verdict as "extraordinary," saying that the judges had dared to disregard the colonial law on subversion. "The judges have issued a very daring verdict, especially as it means that they have challenged the power holders," he said. This verdict should be good news to Papuans, especially after the murder of their leader, Theys. A military investigation team has been digging up areas around the Army's Special Force (Kopassus) headquarters, following speculation that a missing key witness, Eluay's driver, may have been murdered and buried there.

The driver, Aristoteles Masoka, was driving Eluay home from a ceremony at the Kopassus base when their car was stopped by a group of men on November 10. Eluay was found dead in his car the following day. Theys, and other Papuan Presidium Council members had been campaigning for an independent Papua through peaceful means. In an effort to win the hearts of the Papuans and discourage separatism, the government renamed Irian Jaya as Papua under a special autonomy law, under which the province would get a much greater share of the revenue from its natural resources. (The Jakarta Post.com Headline News 5/3/02)

Military Suspends Theys Murder Probe

A Military Police team set up to probe the killing of Papua independence leader Theys Hiyo Eluay has suspended its investigation, claiming there have been no further developments in the case, an officer said Thursday (7/3/02). "The investigation has been suspended and all members of the team have left for Jakarta," Papua Military Police Command chief Colonel Sutarna was quoted as saying by state news agency Antara.
"We are only waiting for new information as we consider the investigation completed. An excavation conducted around the headquarters of the Army's Special Forces [Kopassus] in Hamadi brought no significant result," he said, referring to the Kopassus base in the provincial capital Jayapura. Sutarna declined to give details of the investigation results, saying it was up to the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) commander to announce the findings. "Just ask the TNI commander, because [announcing] the result of the investigation is not my authority," he said.

Sources at the provincial Military Police headquarters in Jayapura told Antara the team's investigation of the murder had probably led them to Kopassus members. Theys was found strangled in his car on November 11, 2001, after dining with the local Kopassus chief the previous evening. Rights activists and police have said evidence indicates that Kopassus members murdered him. (Laksamana.Net March 8, 2002/TAPOL)

AUSTRALIA: Anti-terrorism agreement 'a trap' for Australia

A Memorandum of Understanding on Combatting International Terrorism will see Australia and Indonesia share intelligence to prevent, suppress and combat terrorism. But analysts say this Understanding will be a trap for Australia, when it's inevitably asked for intelligence on separatists in the Indonesian province. He says unrest in Papua will continue because the greater autonomy offered by Indonesia will offer few real benefits.

Presenter/Interviewer: Graeme Dobell, Canberra.

Speakers: Dr Chris Ballard of the Australian National University, speaking today to the Conference for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific

BALLARD: "Well it's viewed with some suspicion by Papuans on two counts. First of all, because it's been generated largely without widespread dialogue in Papua itself. It was drawn on the basis of a draft, prepared by the Governor of Papua and a team of academics - Papuan academics that worked for him. But not really socialised among the community. "And secondly, there's no provision at all for any dialogue in the future leading toward any sort of referendum or any sort of negotiated resolution of the conflict between the government and the Papuan community.
"But more seriously down the line, however generous the provisions appear to be, 80 percent of resource revenues and 70 percent of oil and gas for instance there's a very real fear that a lot of that money will simply be re-routed through Jayapura in Papua, and back to Jakarta. In other words, the people best positioned to take advantage of these new revenue streams are those already benefitting from them."

DOBELL: You don't see those revenues giving Papua more ability to plot its owncourse?

BALLARD: "Ideally it should , but the problem is that the province is very poorly served in terms of trained human resources. It's simply not in a position to extract the maximum benefit from these new revenues. And it'll take a long time to train sufficient numbers of local administrators to see those benefits trickle down to the community at large."

DOBELL: If autonomy doesn't work, what sort of frustration is that going to build up?
BALLARD: "Well, I think we've seen that over the past year in terms of increasing numbers of attacks on police posts by the armed movement, the OPM, police and military posts. And a generally rising sense of impotence and frustration on the part of the wider community who really feel there's no room to manouevre any more. "Jakarta simply isn't interested in dialogue and the elected representatives of the community - the council the PDP, the Praesisium formerly led by Theys Eluay who was killed - they're now led by Tom Beneal, has also been shut out of the political process."

DOBELL: The assassination of Theys Eluay - you've said all the evidence points to the Kopassus Special Forces - how is Indonesia going to deal with that?

BALLARD: "Yes the evidence is fairly clearly pointing to Kopassus and the local police chiefs have made that clear, both privately and publicly. And in fact the army has now started to position itself to accept that there were troops involved and probably a Kopassus unit involved in the assassination of Theys Eluay. "They've also indicated what they'd like to see as the outcome of the official government investigation now going on which is that a number of individuals will be found to have acted independent of any command structure as rogue elements of the military. And they will be tried and no doubt convicted." "But it won't go any further than that and crucially it won't go any higher than that."

DOBELL: So Indonesia will rely on the normal "rogue elements" formula?

BALLARD: "Yes and we've seen that operate throughout the rest of the country in Timor where any form of human rights abuse is fairly usually capped at about the level of lieutenant.

DOBELL: This anti-terrorism understanding that Prime MInister Howard has reached in Jakarta, what does Australia do when Indonesia asks for intelligence about the OPM and what's happening in Papua.

BALLARD: "Well, this could be a real trap for Prime Minister Howard. Imean this was a proposal that came from the Indonesians, it was accepted by the Australians but it has this hidden trap in it that no doubt the Indonesians will in due course ask for Australian intelligence about the international operations of West Papuans resident in Australia, Papua New Guinea or elsewhere. And Australians failure to supply such information will be seen to confirm Jakarta's worst suspicions about Australia's support for Papuan independence.

DOBELL: How much do you think the Indonesians do disbelieve the Australian affirmation that it see Irian Jaya or Papua as an integral part of Indonesia?

BALLARD: "Oh I think the disbelief is very real and it runs right to the top of the Megawati administration. There's a very real suspicion that East Timor was a situation that was entirely manipulated by external forces, including the UN and Australia and that Australia has West Papua in its sights." (Asia/Pacific program 8/02/02)

AWPA, Sydney letter to Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs

Hon Alexander Downer MP
16 February 2002

Dear Mr. Downer,
I am writing about the dangers for human rights defenders working in West Papua. In particular we are worried about those defenders who work with ELS-HAM (Institute for Human Rights Studies and Advocacy).

Amnesty international has just released an Urgent Action concerning fears for the safety of
*Johanes G. Bonay (m), aged 39
*John Rumbiak (m), aged 39
as well as other Human Rights Defenders in West Papua (see enclosed Amnesty U/A).

Members of ELS-HAM have received death threats because of their work investigating the killing of the West Papuan leader, Theys Eluay. Eluay was killed on the 10 November 2001. The investigation has led to harassment on a number of levels including anonymous phone calls. One such call was taken by a staff member at the ELS-HAM office. He was told that human rights defenders including Johanes G. Bonay and John Rumbiak are considered “dangerous” by Kopassus, the Indonesian Special Forces Troops. These troops are operating in the province and are now generally accepted as those responsible for the death of Theys Eluay.

The phone call was received immediately after a joint statement was issued on 11 February, 2002 by three Papuan human rights organizations: ELS-HAM, Legal Aid Institute Papua (LBH Papua) and the Commission for Anti Violence and Forced Disappearance Papua (Kontras Papua). In the statement the three organisations reject the establishment of the National Inquiry Commission (KPN) and the Central Military Police Inquiry Commission (Tim Puspom TNI) created to investigate the killing of Theys Eluay.

It should be pointed out that as a human rights group ELS-HAM is an independent organisation and does not have any association with any kind of political organisations (inside or outside West Papua). It is a non-violent group that believes in dialogue to resolve the problems in the province.

As a human rights organisation ELS-HAM also works closely with different institutions that deal with human rights including the UN Human Rights Commission, Parliaments, Non-Governmental Organisations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Indonesia National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) and churches as well as other organisations concerned with human rights.

We ask you to use your good offices with the Indonesian Government to
- urge the authorities to do all they can to guarantee the safety of Johanes G. Bonay, John Rumbiak and other human rights defenders in Papua
- to take action against those responsible for the death threats.

The Australia West Papua Association also urges the Australian Government
- to send a fact finding mission to West Papua to investigate the human rights situation in the province.
AWPA, Sydney

Indonesia's Tangguh Gas Field Holds 18.3 TRLN Cubic Feet of LNG

MANOKWARI, Papua, Feb 12 Asia Pulse/Antara - The Tangguh gas field in Bintuni Bay area of Manokwari, Papua, holds some 18.3 trillion cubic feet of LNG, a spokesman for Tangguh BP Indonesia Erwin Maryoto said on Monday. BP Indonesia holds 50 per cent of the large gas reserves while the rest is divided among Mitsubishi, Nippon, British Gas, Karematau Corp and Nissho Iwai, Erwin said. The liquefied natural gas will be drawn from the Weriagar and Vorwata fields, then siphoned through an undersea pipeline to the plants in Tanah Merah. The project will pass through three administrative regions if Babo subdistrict where the plant is located, while Bintuni and Aranday subdistricts are the locations of the offshore mining operations.

In terms of the social and environmental aspects, the location of the Tangguh project has dynamic, complex and unique characteristics, so that BP Indonesia will apply the techniques of biological preservation for the development by the people. Erwin said early in 2002 will see the start of the construction work on two LNG trains scheduled for production in 2006. The two trains will produce an average of seven million sons of gas per year which can be increased in the future without expanding the land, Erwin said. According to a survey, the LNG reserves in the Weriagar and Vorwata fields
can support the development of five trains into eight trains with increased explorations. This would bolster Indonesia's position as a world LNG producer which is expected to contribute a vast income to the state and nation. After operating and the return of the capital that had been spent on development early in 2010, the Tangguh project will enhance the economy of the Papuan people.

Tangguh is one of the private sectors in Indonesia using the system and process of participatory rural appraisal (PRA) which could empower the local people.Through PRA, Tangguh will have some results in the social and environmental sectors for the development of the people, especially the rural areas which will be affected by the construction of the LNG plant. PRA not only covers formal groups of people, but more importantly, the smaller groups, like fishermen's wives who are particularly active in development activities, Erwin said. (Joyo Indonesian News)

BP To Start Tangguh LNG Proj July

JAKARTA, March 8 (Dow Jones)--Oil and gas company BP Indonesia will start developing infrastructure for the Tangguh liquefied natural gas project in Papua province in July, the Jakarta Post reports. The report quotes Satya W. Yudha, BP Indonesia vice president for government relations and public affairs, as saying the company will begin construction following completion of its environmental impact assessment this month. "We will develop well production, pipelines and the LNG plant starting from July and expect to complete construction in 2005," he was quoted as saying. He said the company will spend millions of dollars in building the infrastructure, but didn't provide details.

The unit of BP PLC. (BP) is competing with LNG producers from Australia and Qatar to win the contract to supply LNG to Guangdong province in China. The Guangdong LNG supply contract offers potential sales totaling 3 million tons of LNG annually, beginning in 2005. Satya said BP would start construction work even if China hasn't announced the results of the LNG contract tender, the newspaper reports. (Joyo Indonesian News /Tapol)

Court affirms dismissal of lawsuit against Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc.

New Orleans--(Business wire)--Feb. 25, 2002--Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. said today it welcomes the decision by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal, State of Louisiana, that affirms the dismissal with prejudice of all claims in a five-year old lawsuit pending against the company filed by a New Orleans plaintiffs' attorney, Martin E. Regan, Jr., on behalf of Yosepha Alomang, an Indonesian citizen.
James R. Moffett, Chairman and CEO of FCX said, "We have always been confident that we would prevail because the allegations in this lawsuit, now over five years old, had no basis in law or in fact. We will continue, as we have in the past, to focus on building and strengthening relationships with our neighbors and partners in the Indonesian province of Papua, where we operate." In addition to the State Appellate Court decision announced today, an earlier lawsuit filed by Mr. Regan on behalf of another Indonesian citizen in the United States Federal District Court was similarly dismissed with prejudice in March of 1998. The dismissal of that case was also affirmed on appeal. FCX explores for, develops, mines and processes ore containing copper, gold and silver in Indonesia, and smelts and refines copper concentrates in Spain and Indonesia. Additional information about FCX is available on our Internet web site "fcx.com".

Senate Urges Action on West Papuan Leader's Death

Wednesday, 13 February 2002
The Senate this afternoon agreed to Greens Senator Bob Brown's motion urging action by the Indonesian Government on the death of West Papuan leader Theys Eluay. Regarded as the foremost West Papuan independence leader, Mr Eluay was murdered by unknown assailants in the Indonesian province of West Papua. There is compelling evidence that the Indonesian military murdered Mr Eluay. The motion was opposed by the Government but passed with the support of the ALP and Democrats.
The motion reads: that the Senate:
(a) expresses its grave concern of the death of West Papuan leader, Theys
Eluay; and
(b) calls on the Australian Government to request that the Indonesian
Government conduct a full and independent inquiry into Mr Eluay's death.
Further information: Ben Oquist 02 62773170 or 0419704095

President vows to visit Papua

JAKARTA (JP): President Megawati Soekarnoputri vowed on Friday to visit the country's easternmost province of Papua in the near future, a report said. "God willing, I will make a visit there in the very near future," the head of state said as quoted by Antara during a meeting with 250 Papuans at Merdeka Palace. The native Papuans, who are from Baliem valley, are in Jakarta for a visit. Accompanied by Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno, Megawati told her guests that she could not visit the province last year due to her
tight schedule. She also said that she had long wanted to see Baliem valley which is abundant in flora and fauna. After the 10-minute meeting, the president invited the 250 Papuans for a tour of the palace.
(The Jakarta Post [online] 8/3/02)

INDONESIA: Australia moves to rebuild defence ties

Australia has taken another step rebuilding military ties with Indonesia, suspended after the independence vote in East Timor. After talks in Jakarta, Defence Minister Robert Hill announced that seven Indonesian military cadets will be invited to undertake training in Australia. Senator Hill's Indonesian visit builds on the memorandum of understanding on combatting international terrorism signed last month in Jakarta by Australian Prime Minister John Howard and Indonesian President Megawatti Sukarnoputri.

Presenter/Interviewer: Mark Bowling, Jakarta Correspondent
Speakers: Australia's Defence Minister Robert Hill

HILL: We're going to invite some seven Indonesian military cadets to join our academy. We think that is good for Australia and it is good for Indonesia. It means Indonesia better understands our military doctrine and our values and it means that they get the professional training that we can offer. We're also looking in the future at also developing some joint maritime surveillance, because between Australia and Indonesia that is important to both of us, and we might be able to assist them in developing their counter-terrorist capabilities as well, at least in the command and control area where we really do have very sophisticated processes.

BOWLING: Are you likely to suggest that there should be a further  re-engagement, that there should be military exercises with Indonesia?

HILL: We are taking it step by step, according to what we and they identify as in our mutual interests. A good defence relationship between two neighbouring countries is, to my mind, important. There's been some stresses in the past, therefore we want to rebuild it, but at a pace that both sides are comfortable with.

BOWLING: Well to what level? Two years ago Australians were shooting at Indonesian proxies in the form of Jakarta-backed militias on the East Timor/West Timor border. Now we are talking about extending the relationship from that low point - but to what level should the relationship be?

HILL: Well Australian and Indonesian forces are now working constructively together on the East Timor border, on the western border. They have regular dialogue, they communicate about the movement of people across the border, and it is that sort of mutual understanding of each of our interests that we want to encourage and support.

BOWLING: What is the benchmark for engagement? Is it about human rights?

HILL: Indonesia knows the values that we bring into the relationship and which we regard as important and adherence to the international standards of human rights are clearly part of those values. Indonesian leaders are saying to me that they recognise that also and are seeking to indoctrinate the troops and others as to the importance of these values as well. I regard that as positive. I certainly see enough to encourage this process of rebuilding the defence relationship, which I think, as I said, will be of benefit to both of us.
(Asia/Pacific program 7/03/02)

AUSTRALIA: Military analyst says caution wise over Indonesia links

A closer observer of Indonesia's military says the Australian government is right to adopt a cautious approach to rebuilding defence ties with Jakarta. Bob Lowry is a former Australian military officer and author of the book "The Armed forces of Indonesia".

Presenter/Interviewer: Peter Mares
Speakers: Military and political analyst Bob Lowry.

LOWRY: Yes, I think it is time to begin a cautious approach. It's necessary to take a cautious approach rather than jump back in because - although Indonesia has turned to democracy, it will take a long time before the armed forces can be reformed and respect for the rule of law etc. can be inculcated into the armed forces And that's a question of resources and a question of retraining and reorganisation and government policy and that doesn't happen overnight.

MARES: Senator Hill says in that interview that Indonesian commanders are now talking about the importance of respecting human rights - but we've heard those kind of assurances in the past. I mean, I recall former Foreign Minister Gareth Evans making similar statements after the Dili Massacre in the early1990's. There doesn't seem to be much evidence on the ground of that change working its way through the Indonesian military.

LOWRY: Yes - well as I said before - it's one thing for the generals at the top, or at least some of them, to say they want to be respected as an international military organisation etc., but it's another thing for the government to set the policy, to reform the legal process so that the rule of law applies and to change the conduct of the troops on the ground.

MARES: The bringing of seven cadets to study at Australia's Defence Academy - is that really a kind of symbolic gesture do you think?

LOWRY: I think it's a very important one because this is a longterm process that we're talking about - that is the consolidation of democracy. If you start at the bottom like this you make sure that at least some young officers are going into the system with a full appreciation of what it means to operate as a member of an army in a democracy and I think it will give a good grounding. In fact, this is something that would have been valuable years ago but of course it wasn't possible because of the political situation.

MARES: But in the past Australia has provided training for Indonesia's Special Forces, for example. Do you think that kind of training should be kept off the agenda for now?

LOWRY: Yes, I think because of the sensitivities related to the task that the Special Forces in Indonesia are involved in - especially internal security operations in Aceh and Irian Jaya and so on. And the seeming point is that some of them at least - or some members associated with the Special Forces - are still involved in extra-judicial killings etc. We need to take a cautious approach towards re-establishing links with the Special Forces at the level of individual training etc.

MARES: United States also suspended military ties with Indonesia over the events in East Timor in 1999 - how closely will Washington be watching Australia's moves to rebuild ties?

LOWRY: Well the administration in the United States is giving indications that it would like to restore full military ties with Indonesia. Butt of course the Congress will want to be convinced that certain conditions have been fulfilled as a result of what happened in East Timor and that there is evidence that things are actually changing - so I don't think it's going to be as easy as the administration would like. But certainly the events of 11 September have made them look for allies and perhaps overlook things that they may have previously not condoned. (Asia/Pacific program 7/03/02)