Asia Times: US suspends military ties with Indonesia



	September 11, 1999	atimes.com

Southeast Asia

US suspends military ties with Indonesia
By Jim Lobe

WASHINGTON - The United States has suspended all military ties with Indonesia and, for the first time, called on Jakarta to invite an international peacekeeping force to restore order in East Timor.

Announcing the suspension of ''all programs of military cooperation'', President Bill Clinton said future US assistance to Indonesia would ''depend very strongly on the way Indonesia handles this situation''.

US military leaders had made it ''crystal clear to senior military officials in Indonesia, what they must do to restore our confidence'', Clinton told reporters at the White House, before leaving for New Zealand to attend a meeting of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) nations.

Clinton said he had been in telephone contact with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and ''our partners in the region, and around the world'', and applauded efforts to mobilize a multinational security force for East Timor. ''The United States is prepared to provide support to this Australian-led effort. Although we have made no final decision, we're consulting with Congress now on the best way to support this mission.''

Clinton further declared, ''If Indonesia does not end the violence, it must invite the international community to assist in restoring security.''

Meanwhile in Congress, Under-Secretary of State Thomas Pickering revealed that ''in effect, any future assistance from the international financial institutions is effectively cut off as of now''. Pickering said Washington was reviewing its own bilateral aid program and may impose trade sanctions against Indonesia, if it did not end the violence immediately and respect the political will of the East Timorese. Pickering made his remarks amid growing pressure by the international financial institutions themselves on Jakarta to end the violence.

At the same time the US was cutting military ties, the World Bank warned Indonesia that it risked future financial aid because of its failure to comply with an earlier pledge to Indonesia's donors to cooperate fully with the UN operation in East Timor.

In a confidential letter seen by IPS, World Bank President James Wolfensohn warned Indonesian President B J Habibie that Jakarta's failure to comply with its pledge to Indonesia's donors in July to co-operate fully with the UN operation in East Timor risked future financial aid. ''For the international financial community to be able to continue its full support,'' Wolfensohn stated to Habibie, ''it is critical that you act swiftly to restore order, and that your government carry through on its public commitment to honor the referendum outcome.''

A World Bank spokesman, confirming the letter had been sent to Jakarta, said Habibie had not yet replied. In earlier statements Indonesian officials bristled at the pressure being applied by the IMF and the World Bank.

On Wednesday, the IMF's director for the Asia and Pacific announced that a mission to Indonesia that was planned for later this month had been placed on hold. Indonesia, whose economy effectively collapsed in the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, has relied on a huge, $47 billion rescue package put together by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for its recovery.

The United States, the largest shareholder in both the World Bank and the IMF, has been consulting intensively with other major western donors over the past week about a coordinated strategy, even though Washington has enough clout in both institutions to hold back loans unilaterally if it so desired.

US officials conceded privately that economic pressure may not be sufficient to persuade the Indonesian army - which reinforced its forces on East Timor when Habibie declared a state of emergency this week - to stop the violence and destruction.

It was in that context that Thursday's suspension of all bilateral military ties and Pickering's call on Jakarta to formally invite a UN peacekeeping force to the territory were undertaken. ''The government of Indonesia has had ample opportunity and the capability to achieve . . . an immediate stop to the killing and destruction in East Timor,'' Pickering said. ''The time has clearly come for Indonesia to invite international assistance to restore peace and stability to the territory.''

He added that the administration is ''prepared to support such an effort in a material way'', including ''logistical support, [air- and sea-] lift, planning, and communications'', some of which could mean that US troops may be ''present on the ground to carry out such tasks''.

Earlier on Thursday, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Harry Shelton, said Washington had already sent a group of Pentagon planners to Australia, which is expected to lead any peacekeeping force.

Until now, Washington had clearly hoped that the General Wiranto, Indonesia's Armed Forces Chief of Staff, intended to quickly restore order after martial law was declared. But the administration appears to have become convinced in the last few days that Wiranto either lacks effective control of his troops or is complicit in the violence.

''What I am concerned about,'' said Pickering, ''has been a history of [his] saying one thing and apparently doing something else, of saying they were going to control the security, and aiding and abetting the militias. To put faith in one or another of the comments of someone who at least now appears to be knowledgeable of, if not engaged in that kind of activity, is a pretty tough sell.''

That message was conveyed to Wiranto in a meeting in Jakarta late Wednesday with the head of the US Pacific Fleet, Admiral Dennis Blair, according to Shelton. It was Blair, who earlier this year personally invited Wiranto to participate in a major Pacific military conference in Hawaii in October, who informed the general that all military-to-military ties between the United States and Indonesia would be suspended. Shelton told senators Thursday that Wiranto's invitation to the conference had been suspended.

(Inter Press Service)

back to the top

©1999 Asia Times Online Co., Ltd.

Southeast Asia Sex News | Asian Sex Gazette