08/12/2002
EDITORIAL NUMBER=0-10063

U.S. AID TO INDONESIA

The United States has taken a significant step in strengthening ties with Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation. Over the next two years, the U.S. will give more than fifty million dollars to help Indonesia’s security forces fight the war on terrorism.

The new aid package, which includes funds for military training, marks a new chapter in U.S.- Indonesian relations. Three years ago, the United States restricted all military aid to Indonesia after the armed forces were implicated in human rights abuses in East Timor. Now, in the words of Secretary of State Colin Powell, Indonesia has made "a dramatic return to the process of democratization." This a positive development that allows the U.S. to begin resuming limited military cooperation both to strengthen Indonesia’s armed forces and to continue the democratization process.

As part of that process, Indonesia needs to continue its military reform and bring the perpetrators of past repression to justice. The U.S. will not further normalize military to military relations without concrete Indonesian progress on accountability for past abuses. The United States believes that its new plan for training Indonesian military officers will help develop a cadre of officers in Indonesia with high ethical and professional standards.

There should be no dichotomy between fighting terrorism and standing up for human rights. As Secretary Colin Powell has said, "if we are really going to prevail over this plague on the face of mankind, then we have to do it in a way that respects human dignity and the rights of men and women."

The United States will work with Indonesia to fight terrorism. Defeating terrorism is essential to the future of both countries.