Kompas -
June 15, 2010
Jakarta –
The government does not feel that it needs to get concerned about military
cooperation with the United States, including over assurances about continued
restoration of joint training between the two country's special forces. The
government, in this case the Department of Defense and the Indonesian Military
(TNI) will not go begging in order to have this cooperation reopened with US
parties.
Accompanied
by the army, navy and air force chiefs of staff, these assertions were made by
Defense Minster Purnomo Yusgiantoro and TNI Commander in Chief General Djoko
Santoso when they attended a working meeting with the House of Representatives
(DPR) Commission I on defense in Senayan, Jakarta, on Monday June 14.
"There
is no urgency over (Kopassus, the army's elite special forces) training.
Actually military cooperation between the Indonesian military and the US has
continued to take place since 2001 when the embargo against us was lifted. At
the time, the two countries then formed the Indonesia-USA Security Dialogue
forum, which has already met eight times", said Yusgiantoro.
Tjahjo
Kumolo from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) parliamentary
faction called on the government to have the courage to insist on a
clarification of the relationship, bearing in mind that various incidents [that
have occurred in Indonesia] keep being linked with delays in the planned
arrival of US President Barack Obama. Kumolo added that the government does not
need to go begging to the US.
Yusgiantoro
protested assumptions that link the lack of clarity surrounding the restoration
of joint military relations with, among other things, the cancellation of visit
to Indonesia.
"If it
is said that Obama canceled his visit to Indonesia, and one of the reasons for
this is linked with Kopassus, it think this perception is incorrect. Obama also
canceled his visit to Australia, right, one of his country's allies, including
in the defense field", said Yusgiantoro.
A similar
statement was made by Santoso. He even stated that military cooperation between
the two countries has become more frequent since 2008. He conceded however that
for Kopassus, joint training has still yet to be realised.
"But, a
number of senior military officers and the US government have indicated their
desire to reopen cooperation with Kopassus. Hopefully this will come good.
[Although] certainly there are still obstacles in the Congress. However, we
will no go begging", said Santoso.
Santoso also
asserted that it was untrue that military cooperation with US has been
constrained by incidents of past human rights violations. (DWA)
[Translated
by James Balowski.]
