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Govt warned on
troop training
uth
Pacific
forum
V
By IAN McPHEDRAN
Defence Reporter
Regional security analysts have
urged the Australian Government
to proceed cautiously on training
Indonesian troops because of the
risk of bloodshed in the republic
leading up to the retirement of
President Suharto.
Speaking at the conclusion of a
post South Pacific Forum dialogue
meeting yesterday, the United
States Administration's senior
Asia-Pacific official, Winston Lord,
said he believed the Minister for
Defence, Senator Robert Ray, was
referring to the fact that the US
Administration was prevented by
Congress from providing grant as
sistance to military training.
"Indonesia will be able to pur
chase training for the military
forces.
"Australia might be compensat
ing for the fact that we cannot
provide this grant assistance. We'
think it is unfortunate that we
can't provide it because of human'
rights concerns in the Congress,"
Mr Lord said.
He said the Administration had
made it clear to Congress that the
training programs taught principles
of civilian control and the practice
of human rights and democracy.
He refused to comment on the
issue of leadership succession.
"Indonesia has done extremely
well economically under the cur
rent leadership and as far as the
future is concerned thai is up to
the Indonesian people.
"Of course we have some human
rights concerns with Indonesia that
we have been very frank about,
but we also have a very construc
tive relationship in many fields,"
he said.
Mr Lord, who is the Assistant
Secretary of State for East Asia
and the Pacific, said the US had a
strong economic and military ac
cess relationship with Indonesia.
He said whatever Australia was
doing militarily with Indonesia was
consistent with US objectives of
human rights and democracy.
"We also share a sense of a
need for security in this region and
good training, so whatever Austra
lia is doing I am sure is compati
ble but is in no way linked with
any American actions," he said.
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