From: fbp@igc.apc.org (Foreign Bases Project)
Newsgroups: soc.rights.human
Subject: Congress cuts IMET (revised)
Date: 4 Oct 92 14:37:00 GMT
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1476700583:000:5201
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!fbp    Oct  4 07:37:00 1992


From: Foreign Bases Project <fbp>
Subject: Congress cuts IMET (revised)

/* Written 11:23 am  Oct  3, 1992 by cscheiner in cdp:reg.easttimor */
/* ---------- "Congress cuts IMET (revised)" ---------- */
Press release from the East Timor Action Network / U.S.
PO Box 1182, White Plains, NY 10602 USA. (914)428-7299   fax:(914)428-7383
For Immediate Release: October 3, 1992

HOUSE-SENATE CONFERENCE COMMITTEE APPROVES UNCONDITIONAL IMET CUT

There will no U.S. military aid to Indonesia in Fiscal Year 1993!

In the late afternoon of Friday, October 2, a House-Senate Conference 
Committee deleted $2.3 million in International Military Education and 
Training (IMET) funding for Indonesia from the Foreign Aid appropriations 
bill to protest human rights violations in East Timor. The committee also 
adopted notification and approval requirements on economic aid to Indonesia. 
This is the final decision on this issue for this year, as the bill will be 
passed by both houses and signed by President Bush in a few days.

The cutoff of the only US military aid program for Indonesia came after a 
hard-fought battle, in which Indonesia enlisted members of the US military, 
State and Defense Departments, and major corporations to lobby for the 
program, which annually trains about 150 Indonesian military officers in the 
US. More than 2600 have been trained since Indonesia invaded and occupied 
East Timor in 1975.

Charles Scheiner, coordinator of the East Timor Action Network/US, called 
the decision "a major victory for the people of East Timor. By resisting 
pressure from business interests and the Suharto and Bush administrations, 
Congress has sent a strong message that the ground rules have changed," 
Scheiner said. "This is the first time in 17 years that Congress has cut aid 
to Indonesia over East Timor. The American people and government have opened 
their eyes to Indonesian killings of the East Timorese people, 200,000 of 
whom have been killed since the invasion. Sanctions will continue and 
escalate until Indonesia stops violating East Timorese human rights and 
allows the people there to determine their own political future."

In June, the House of Representatives unanimously approved an amendment 
proposed by Ronald Machtley (R-RI) and Tony Hall (D-OH) to defund the IMET 
program. They also required that economic aid to Indonesia be approved by 
Congress. The issue was decided in three days, and pro-Indonesia forces did 
not make a serious effort to influence the vote.

In the Senate, however, they had three months to lobby, and chose to make 
this a major issue. Business representatives told Congress that Jakarta had 
threatened to retaliate against US firms if aid was cut, and Senators were 
visited and called by cabinet officials and admirals. Lobbyists for General 
Electric, AT&T, Freeport-MacMoRan, and McDonnell-Douglas, among others, went 
to work. The American-Indonesian Chamber of Commerce wrote its members that 
the bill "could substantially affect the level of economic assistance," and 
that it "may directly or indirectly impact US firms doing business in 
Indonesia."

The debate garnered network television coverage, an editorial in the Wall 
Street Journal, and widespread discussion. Senators heard from voters, as 
human rights, church, peace, and East Timor solidarity groups mounted an 
intense campaign. Although the grassroots groups couldn't match Jakarta's 
money and high-level contacts, they mobilized many Americans who had 
previously been inactive on East Timor.

On September 23, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted 15-12 to disallow 
IMET unless the State Department certified that certain conditions, proposed 
by Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI), were met. This was a defeat for East Timor, 
as the conditions were weak and did not require anything concrete from 
Jakarta. The Committee voted down a proposal by subcommittee chair Patrick 
Leahy (D-VT) that required Indonesia to permit human rights observers into 
East Timor and to list people killed and jailed during and after a massacre 
there last November 12, when Indonesian troops shot into a peaceful memorial 
procession, killing over 140.

When the House-Senate conference committee met yesterday, House subcommittee 
chair David Obey (D-WI) fought for a total suspension of IMET, joined by 
Representatives Matthew McHugh (D-NY) and John Edward Porter (R-IL). Senator 
Leahy proposed conditions stronger than those narrowly rejected by the 
Senate Appropriations Committee, and was supported by Representative Mickey 
Edwards (R-OK), ranking Republican on the House subcommittee. When Inouye 
and his supporters saw that they did not have the votes, they agreed to a 
total cutoff, expecting that Suharto would reject conditional aid as an 
insult to national pride. Legislators from both parties warned of further 
cuts if Indonesia did not move towards human rights and self-determination 
for East Timor.

By fighting so hard, Indonesia's supporters have magnified the importance of 
the final decision. As Jakarta begins to negotiate with Portugal over the 
future of East Timor, this will increase pressure on them to come to a just 
resolution.