Newsgroups: bit.listserv.seasia-l
Date:         Fri, 2 Oct 1992 21:38:02 PDT
From:         Charles Scheiner <cscheiner@IGC.APC.ORG>
Subject:      Congress Cuts US Aid to Indon!!!!!

/* Written  9:37 pm  Oct  2, 1992 by cscheiner in cdp:reg.easttimor */
/* ---------- "Congress Cuts US Aid to Indon!!!!!" ---------- */
**** HOUSE-SENATE CONFERENCE COMMITTEE APPROVES UNCONDITIONAL IMET CUT ****

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

At 6:30 pm on 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. They also agreed to
restrictions and approval requirements on economic aid to Indonesia. This is
the final decision on IMET for this year, as the bill will be passed by both
Houses and signed by the President within the next few days.

The consensus decision came after a hard-fought battle, in which Indonesia
enlisted members of the U.S. military, State and Defense Departments, and
major corporations (including General Electric, AT&T, Freeport-MacMoRan, and
McDonnell-Douglas) to lobby for the program, which has trained about 150
Indonesian military officers in the US every year for decades.

In June, the House of Representatives adopted the Machtley-Hall amendment to
cut off IMET by a unanimous voice vote. The issue was raised and decided
within 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 expressed fears that the IMET
cut could lead to further restrictions on economic aid and trade with
Indonesia. The debate garnered network television coverage, an editorial in
the Wall Street Journal, and widespread discussion. Senators were visited
and called by corporate lobbyists, cabinet officials and admirals. They also
received calls and faxes from many constituents, as human rights, 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 people 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 Inouye, 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 Senator Leahy that would have required
Indonesia to account for people killed and jailed, and to permit human
rights observers into East Timor.

When the House-Senate conference committee met this afternoon,
Representative David Obey led other House members in advocating a total
suspension of IMET. Senator Leahy proposed conditions stronger than those
narrowly rejected by the Appropriations Committee. When Inouye and his
supporters saw that meaningful conditions would probably be approved, they
agreed to the cutoff, expecting that Suharto would reject conditional aid as
an insult to national pride.

By fighting so hard, Indonesia's supporters increased the importance of the
final decision. By resisting such pressure, Congress sends a strong signal
that the ground rules have changed. As Indonesia begins negotiations with
Portugal over East Timor, this will encourage them to come to a just
resolution. This is the first time in 17 years that Congress has cut aid to
Indonesia over East Timor. It will not be the last.

East Timor Action Network / U.S.
PO Box 1182, White Plains, NY 10602 USA. (914)428-7299   fax:(914)428-7383
October 2, 1992
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU