August 5, 2004 - The Indonesian military "should not be given too much credit for too little reform," 65 members of Congress recently wrote U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, as they urged him to reconsider resumption of the Bilateral Defense Dialogue (BDD) between the two countries.

In a letter to Secretary Rumsfeld, the Representatives wrote that they "were surprised and disappointed to learn" that the BDD is scheduled to reconvene.

"[T]he TNI has successfully evaded accountability for its well-documented crimes against humanity and war crimes in East Timor, and there has been little progress in improving human rights practices in Indonesia. Additionally, the TNI continues its brutal tactics in Aceh, Papua, and elsewhere. There are reports that the TNI has extensive connections to the terror group Laskar Jihad, which has re-emerged in renewed violence in Maluku and is operating in Papua. The TNI is also implicated in the murder of U.S. citizens Rick Spier and Ted Burgon, in what the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta described as 'an outrageous act of terrorism.' Although we are pleased that an indictment was recently issued in this case, we believe that further investigation into collaborators in this ambush is warranted. "

The members wrote that, "We believe a resumption of the dialogue at this time would go against the strong posture Congress and the Executive Branch took in the late 1990's to severely limit military assistance, joint exercises, and exchanges with the TNI until human rights issues were addressed."

They added, "The military's real power lies in its vast territorial command structure, which remains intact."

Finally, they urged "the Department of Defense [to] voice its concern with all levels of leadership in the TNI about the brutal human rights record of the Indonesian military. It is imperative that these concerns not be waived in the pursuit of other goals. ..."

The bi-partisan letter was initiated by Representatives Lane Evans (D-IL), Tom Tancredo (R-CO) and Chris Smith (R-NJ).

According to the letter, "a Bilateral Defense Dialogue (BDD) between Indonesia and the U.S. has not occurred since 1997, in part because of the tremendous TNI violence committed in East Timor in 1999."

The full text of the letter and a complete list of signers can be found at www.etan.org/legislation/04rumsfld.htm

On July 15, the full House of Representatives passed legislation which would continue bans on International Military Education and Training and foreign military financing for Indonesia. The Senate has yet to take up the measure.

The Indonesian military said it launched air strikes in Aceh in late July using U.S.-made OV-10 Bronco aircraft.

ETAN advocates for democracy, justice and human rights for East Timor and
Indonesia. ETAN calls for an international tribunal to prosecute crimes against humanity that took place in East Timor since 1975 and continued restrictions on U.S. military assistance to Indonesia until there is genuine reform of its security forces.