[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1132 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1132

 To limit United States military assistance and arms transfers to the 
                        Government of Indonesia.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 19, 1997

 Mr. Kennedy of Rhode Island (for himself, Mr. Gilman, Mr. Berman, Mr. 
Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Porter, Mr. Lantos, Mr. Evans, Mr. Kennedy of 
  Massachusetts, and Mr. Hall of Ohio) introduced the following bill; 
     which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To limit United States military assistance and arms transfers to the 
                        Government of Indonesia.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Indonesia Military Assistance 
Accountability Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Political stability and economic growth in Indonesia 
        are important to the national interests of the United States, 
        however, such stability and growth are disrupted by the denial 
        by the Government of Indonesia, including the denial by the 
        armed forces of Indonesia, of--
                    (A) democratic freedoms, such as meaningful 
                elections, freedom of the press, and freedom of 
                assembly;
                    (B) human rights, such as protection from torture 
                and murder and protection from imprisonment for the 
                nonviolent expression of political views;
                    (C) labor rights; and
                    (D) the rights of citizens to participate in 
                decisions affecting the environment.
            (2) The Government of Indonesia is in a period of crisis, 
        as illustrated by--
                    (A) the extensive violations of human rights by the 
                Government of Indonesia documented in the Department of 
                State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 
                1996;
                    (B) the suppression of peaceful dissent and extreme 
                interference by the government with the media;
                    (C) the deposing of Megawati Sukarnoputri as the 
                head of the Democratic Party of Indonesia (PDI) in 
                1996; and
                    (D) the rating by Transparency International of the 
                Government of Indonesia as one of the most corrupt 
                governments in the world.
            (3) The armed forces of Indonesia play a key role in 
        preserving nondemocratic rule in Indonesia by deploying forces 
        at all levels of society to repress peaceful dissent and by 
        participating in nonmilitary economic ventures that are not 
        subject to public scrutiny or reported as sources of income to 
        international financial institutions.
            (4) The parliamentary elections in Indonesia scheduled for 
        May 1997 may be jeopardized by the actions of the Government of 
        Indonesia, including the actions of the armed forces of 
        Indonesia, because the Government has repeatedly rendered past 
        elections meaningless by denying constitutionally-guaranteed 
        political rights to opposition candidates and their supporters.
            (5) The Government of Indonesia recognizes only one 
        official trade union, has refused to register independent trade 
        unions such as the Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union (SBSI), 
        has arrested Mukhtar Pakpahan, the General Chairman of the 
        SBSI, on charges of subversion, and has closed the offices and 
        confiscated the materials of the SBSI.
            (6) Civil society organizations in Indonesia, such as 
        environmental organizations, indigenous organizations, 
        election-monitoring organizations, legal aid organizations, 
        student organizations, trade union organizations, and community 
        organizations, have been harassed by the Government of 
        Indonesia through such means as detentions, interrogations, 
        denial of permission for meetings, banning of publications, 
        repeated orders to report to security forces or judicial 
        courts, and illegal seizure of documents.
            (7) The armed forces of Indonesia continue to occupy East 
        Timor in violation of two United Nations Security Council 
        resolutions and eight United Nations General Assembly 
        resolutions, and according to the Department of State's Country 
        Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1996, the armed forces 
        continue to carry out torture and killings and other severe 
        violations of human rights in East Timor, and to detain and 
        imprison East Timorese for nonviolent expression of political 
        views.
            (8)(A) The Nobel Prize Committee has awarded the 1996 Nobel 
        Peace Prize to Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo and Jose Ramos 
Horta for their tireless efforts to find a just and peaceful solution 
to the conflict in East Timor.
            (B) Both men are an inspiration for those who desire peace 
        in East Timor.
            (9) As stated in a citation for the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize, 
        ``it has been estimated that one-third of the population of 
        East Timor has lost their lives due to starvation, epidemics, 
        war, and terror''.
            (10) The people of East Timor have been forcibly deprived 
        of their right to self-determination by the refusal of the 
        Government of Indonesia to work with the United Nations to 
        resolve the political status of East Timor.
            (11) In August 1993, the Indonesian military committed to a 
        reduction in the number of combat troops in East Timor.
            (12) On August 1, 1996, former Secretary of State Warren 
        Christopher stated in testimony before the Committee on Foreign 
        Relations of the Senate, ``I think there's a strong interest in 
        seeing an orderly transition of power there [in Indonesia] that 
        will recognize the pluralism that should exist in a country of 
        that magnitude and importance''.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to promote a peaceful 
transition from nondemocratic to democratic rule in Indonesia by 
conditioning the provision of United States military assistance to the 
Government of Indonesia, including the armed forces of Indonesia, on 
the establishment and implementation of specific democratic reforms.

SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON MILITARY ASSISTANCE TO THE GOVERNMENT OF 
              INDONESIA.

    (a) In General.--United States military assistance and arms 
transfers may not be provided to the Government of Indonesia for a 
fiscal year unless the President determines and certifies to the 
Congress for that fiscal year that the Government of Indonesia meets 
the following requirements:
            (1) Free selection of candidates and party leaders; 
        domestic monitoring of elections.--
                    (A) Free selection of candidates and party 
                leaders.--The Government of Indonesia permits 
                opposition parties, including opposition parties that 
                have collected the appropriate number of signatures of 
                individuals required by the Government in order to have 
                candidates of such parties placed on the ballot for 
                national elections (such as the Democratic Party of 
                Indonesia (PDI)), to freely choose their own party 
                leaders and candidates.
                    (B) Domestic monitoring of elections.--The 
                Government of Indonesia provides official accreditation 
                to independent election-monitoring organizations, 
                including the Independent Election Monitoring Committee 
                (KIPP), to observe national elections without 
                interference by personnel of the Government or of the 
                armed forces. In addition, such organizations are 
                allowed to assess such elections and to publicize or 
                otherwise disseminate the assessments throughout 
                Indonesia.
            (2) Protection of nongovernmental organizations.--The 
        police or military of Indonesia do not confiscate materials 
        from or otherwise engage in illegal raids on the offices or 
        homes of members of both domestic or international 
        nongovernmental organizations, including indigenous 
        organizations, election-monitoring organizations, legal aid 
        organizations, student organizations, trade union 
        organizations, community organizations, environmental 
        organizations, and religious organizations.
            (3) Respect for the rule of law.--
                    (A) Accountability for attack on pdi 
                headquarters.--As recommended by the Government of 
                Indonesia's National Human Rights Commission, the 
                Government of Indonesia has investigated the attack on 
                the headquarters of the Democratic Party of Indonesia 
                (PDI) on July 27, 1996, prosecuted individuals who 
                planned and carried out the attack, and made public the 
                postmortem examination of the five individuals killed 
                in the attack.
                    (B) Release of political prisoners.--The following 
                individuals, detained or imprisoned for the nonviolent 
                expression of political views as part of the crackdown 
                by the Government of Indonesia on July 27, 1996, have 
                been released from custody:
                            (i) Budiman Sudjatmiko.
                            (ii) Mukhtar Pakpahan.
                            (iii) Other individuals detained or 
                        imprisoned on subversion charges relating to 
                        the crackdown.
            (4) Resolution of conflict in east timor.--
                    (A) Establishment of dialogue.--The Government of 
                Indonesia has entered into a process of dialogue, under 
the auspices of the United Nations, with Portugal and East Timorese 
leaders of various viewpoints to discuss ideas toward a resolution of 
the conflict in East Timor and the political status of East Timor.
                    (B) Reduction of troops.--The Government of 
                Indonesia has established and implemented a plan to 
                reduce the number of Indonesian troops in East Timor, 
                as stated by Indonesian Major General Theo Syafei in 
                August 1993.
                    (C) Release of political prisoners.--Individuals 
                detained or imprisoned for the nonviolent expression of 
                political views, including the right of self-
                determination in East Timor, have been released from 
                custody, including Fernando DeArujo.
                    (D) Religious rights.--The Government of 
                Indonesia--
                            (i) has prohibited policies and practices 
                        of persecution, harassment, detainment, or 
                        confinement of individuals in East Timor based 
                        on religious grounds; and
                            (ii) has made substantial efforts toward 
                        allowing the freedom of religious expression in 
                        East Timor.
            (5) Improvement in labor rights.--The Government of 
        Indonesia has taken the following actions to improve labor 
        rights in Indonesia:
                    (A) The Government has dropped charges of 
                subversion against the General Chairman of the SBSI 
                trade union, Mukhtar Pakpahan, and has released Mukhtar 
                Pakpahan from custody on this charge.
                    (B) The Government has also released from custody 
                trade union activists Dita Indah Sari, Cohen Husein 
                Ponto, and Mohammad Sholeh.
                    (C) The Government has recognized SBSI as a trade 
                union and has restored all confiscated equipment to 
                SBSI.
    (b) Waivers.--
            (1) In general.--The limitation on United States military 
        assistance and arms transfers under subsection (a) shall not 
        apply if the President determines and notifies the Congress 
        that--
                    (A) an emergency exists that requires providing 
                such assistance or arms transfers for the Government of 
                Indonesia; or
                    (B) subject to paragraph (2), it is in the national 
                security interest of the United States to provide such 
                assistance or arms transfers for the Government of 
                Indonesia.
            (2) Applicability.--A determination under paragraph (1)(B) 
        shall not become effective until 15 days after the date on 
        which the President notifies the Congress in accordance with 
        such paragraph.
    (c) Effective Date.--The limitation on United States military 
assistance and arms transfers under subsection (a) shall apply only 
with respect to assistance provided for, and arms transfers made 
pursuant to agreements entered into, fiscal years beginning after the 
date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. UNITED STATES MILITARY ASSISTANCE AND ARMS TRANSFERS DEFINED.

    As used in this Act, the term ``United States military assistance 
and arms transfers'' means--
            (1) assistance under chapter 2 of part II of the Foreign 
        Assistance Act of 1961 (relating to military assistance), 
        including the transfer of excess defense articles under section 
        516 of that Act;
            (2) assistance under chapter 5 of part II of the Foreign 
        Assistance Act of 1961 (relating to international military 
        education and training or ``IMET''), except that such term 
        shall not include military education and training for civilian 
        personnel under section 541 of such Act (commonly referred to 
        as ``Expanded IMET'') that--
                    (A) promotes dialogue between civilians and 
                military officers of the armed forces of Indonesia on 
                the proper role of the armed forces in a democratic 
                society; or
                    (B) provides for training of civilian officials and 
                military officers of the armed forces of Indonesia on 
                military justice and international human rights 
                standards; or
            (3) the transfer of defense articles, defense services, or 
        design and construction services under the Arms Export Control 
        Act, excluding--
                    (A) any transfer or other assistance under section 
                23 of that Act; or
                    (B) defense articles and defense services licensed 
                or approved for export under section 38 of that Act.
                                 <all>