Action ALERT
East Timor and Indonesia Action Network
Last Chance to Cut Military Assistance for
Indonesia This Year
Call Your Members of Congress Today
This is our last chance to cut U.S. assistance for Indonesia's
brutal military for 2008. The spending bill that funds military
assistance, the foreign operations appropriations bill, is expected to
be finalized shortly.
The House-passed version of the bill contains far less funding for the
Indonesian military than the Senate version. While we firmly believe
that Indonesia should receive no military assistance, at this time, we
must let Congress know that we prefer the House's
proposed $8 million maximum in foreign military financing (FMF) for
Indonesia rather than the Senate's $17.6
million maximum. (FMF provides grants and loans to foreign governments
to buy military supplies and services.) Congress needs to hear from you
now!
Call your two Senators and Representative today! Ask to speak to the
foreign policy staffer.
-
Urge them to ensure that the lower funding level for foreign military financing for Indonesia is included in the final Foreign Operations Appropriations Act, as passed in the House version of the bill (rather than the Senate version).
-
Tell them that since all restrictions on military assistance to Indonesia were ended, military reform and human rights accountability have stalled or moved backwards.
You can reach all members of Congress through the congressional
switchboard, 202-224-3121. If you reach a voice mail, please leave a
message for the staffer. And please let us know if you do make the phone
calls and how they went.
Contact: John M. Miller, ETAN's National
Coordinator, john@etan.org,
718-596-7668. Thank you!
Your efforts can make all the difference.
More Information
Since Congress ended all restrictions on military assistance to
Indonesia in late 2005, military reform and human rights accountability
have stalled or moved backwards. Indonesian officials continue to evade
accountability for their past human rights crimes in East Timor and
Indonesia. Promises by Indonesia's president
to reform the military budget and to hold accountable members of the
military remain unfulfilled. Current and former military accused of
serious crimes continue to receive promotions and sensitive commands.
For example, Col. Burhanuddin
Siagian -- a senior commander in West Papua indicted twice by the
UN-backed Serious Crimes Process in East Timor for crimes against
humanity -- recently threatened to "destroy"
anyone who "betrays"
Indonesia. Moreover, regulations to implement three-year old legislation
to end military-ownership of businesses have yet to be issued, despite
repeated promises to do so. Furthermore, access to Papua remains
restricted. Papuan human rights advocates who recently met with UN
officials are now facing harassment.
The amount for FMF appropriated in the Senate version of the foreign
operations appropriations bill -- up to $17.7
million -- is more than 17 times the amount
allocated for the Indonesian military in 2007. There has been no
dramatic change in the Indonesian military's
conduct over the past year to warrant such a large increase.
For more information, contact John M.
Miller, 718-596-7668.
see also Guide to U.S. Security Assistance to Indonesia and East Timor
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