From: cscheiner@igc.apc.org (Charles Scheiner)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.asean
Subject: US Congress cuts Indonesia aid
Date: 3 Oct 92 04:56:00 GMT
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1537200136:000:3534
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!cscheiner    Oct  2 21:56:00 1992


**** 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
Newsgroups: soc.culture.asean