[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 38 (Wednesday, March 10, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E381-E382]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 THE INTRODUCTION OF THE INTERNATIONAL MILITARY TRAINING TRANSPARENCY 
                         AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. LANE EVANS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 10, 1999

  Mr. EVANS. Mr. Speaker, today, with the leadership of Congressman 
Christopher Smith and the bipartisan support of 48 of my colleagues, I 
sponsored the International Military Training Transparency and 
Accountability

[[Page E382]]

Act. This legislation will ensure that the United States armed forces 
ceases to assist foreign militaries that do not share our respect for 
human rights.
  Specifically, the bill prohibits the U.S. from providing military 
services or training to countries that are restricted by U.S. law from 
receiving International Military Education and Training (IMET) or other 
military assistance because of their strong record of human rights 
violations. This bill will also ensure that the Department of Defense 
cannot circumvent Congressional intent and find other methods in which 
to engage with foreign militaries that are notorious human rights 
abusers.
  The Pentagon's relationship with the Indonesian military in recent 
years demonstrates the urgency and necessity of this legislation. In 
1992, Congress banned U.S. taxpayer funded IMET training in the wake of 
the brutal Dili massacre, where over 270 peaceful demonstrators were 
shot down in an East Timor cemetery. This ban was enacted in an attempt 
to put an end to the egregious human rights abuses the Indonesian 
government committed against its own people and the people of East 
Timor.
  Since 1975, the Indonesian government has engaged in a reign of 
terror in East Timor, implementing a policy of severe repression of the 
Timorese people. Since the onset of the occupation, over 200,000--one-
third of the original population--have perished. Extra-judicial 
killings, kidnappings, tortures and imprisonments have become a way of 
life for those who challenge the authoritarian regime.
  In 1997, I wrote Secretary of Defense William Cohen, requesting 
detailed information on the training of members of the Kopsassus, the 
elite, special forces division of the Indonesian military. The Kopassus 
is infamous for its role as the ruthless enforcer of Indonesian's 
illegal occupation of East Timor. Shortly thereafter, I received a 
response from the Pentagon describing the United States' continued 
training of the Indonesian military under another program--the Joint 
Combined Exchange and Training (JCET) program. While the JCET program 
is legal, it violated the spirit of Congressional efforts to ban any 
military assistance to the notoriously brutal and repressive Indonesian 
armed forces.
  Under the auspices of the JCET program, U.S. Special Operations 
forces trained the Kopassus in sniper skills, marksmanship, and close 
quarter combat, all while the Kopassus continued to repress and 
terrorize the people of East Timor. In Spring, 1998, the Pentagon 
announced it would cease its military relationship with Indonesian 
indefinitely. Yet, the Pentagon's decision to end military exercises 
with the Indonesian forces should not have come voluntarily. It should 
be illegal for our armed services to engage in any manner with known 
human rights violators.
  More important, this legislation will limit U.S. assistance to 
egregious violators of human rights. In Latin America, and in Africa--
the U.S. continues to train and engage with forces that are well-known 
for their disregard for basic human dignity. The International Military 
Training Transparency and Accountability Act will clarify our stance on 
engagement with brutal military forces. We have a responsibility to 
ensure that our national security policy embodies the very democratic 
principles it seeks to defend.

                          ____________________