[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 159 (Wednesday, October 4, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6316-S6317]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               INDONESIA

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I want to speak briefly about a recent 
report by the Secretary of State concerning, among other things, 
impunity within Indonesia's military. This has been a concern of mine, 
and of many others, for decades. Senate Report 114-290, which 
accompanies division J of the fiscal year 2017 Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, requires the Secretary of State to submit a report 
on steps taken by the Indonesian military to, No. 1, deny promotion, 
suspend from active service, and/or prosecute and punish military 
officers who have violated human rights, and to refine further the 
military's mission and develop an appropriate defense budget to carry 
out that mission; No. 2, cooperate with civilian judicial authorities 
to resolve cases of violations of human rights; No. 3, implement 
reforms that increase the transparency and accountability of the 
military's budget and operations, and achieve divestment of military 
businesses; and No. 4, allow unimpeded access to Papua; respect due 
process and freedom of expression, association, and assembly in Papua; 
and release Papuans and Moluccans imprisoned for peaceful political 
activity.
  The Secretary submitted this report on September 12, 2017, and the 
information it contains is both disturbing and disappointing.
  Indonesia became a democracy after many years of brutal, corrupt 
dictatorship under President Suharto. He had the unwavering support of 
the Indonesian military, which was responsible for widespread 
atrocities not only against Indonesian citizens who opposed Suharto but 
later against the

[[Page S6317]]

people of East Timor and Papua. He was also a Cold War ally of the 
United States.
  Suharto is gone, and Indonesia has changed for the better. It remains 
an important ally of the United States, but no democracy can achieve 
its potential without an independent judiciary and security forces that 
are professional and accountable or that fails to defend such 
fundamental rights as freedom of expression and association.
  While the Indonesian military is no longer the criminal enterprise it 
was during the Suharto period, impunity for past crimes remains the 
norm. As the Secretary of State's report notes, the Government of 
Indonesia continues to take inadequate steps to hold members of the 
Indonesian military accountable for human rights violations. One stark 
example includes the reemergence on active duty and promotions of 
several former members of the Special Forces' Rose Team, who were 
convicted in 1999 of kidnapping pro-democracy activists. In another 
deplorable incident, the Government of Indonesia appointed as the head 
of the Armed Forces Strategic Intelligence Agency a military officer 
who was convicted in 2003 for the murder of prominent Papuan civil 
society leader Theys Eluay.
  Furthermore, military-related entities, such as foundations and 
cooperatives, continue to hold large amounts of land and other 
properties and businesses, despite the government's claim that the 
military has largely divested itself of private enterprises.
  Military personnel are still not subject to civilian judicial 
authorities. Instead, they are tried by military tribunals which lack 
transparency and often grant much shorter prison sentences than any 
credible judicial authority would deem appropriate. Although four 
district courts are authorized to adjudicate cases involving human 
rights violations, none of them have heard or ruled on any human rights 
cases since 2005.
  Simply authorizing changes or espousing rhetoric without following up 
with tangible action makes a mockery of the concept of reform.
  Other findings in the report are also illustrative of a resistance to 
reform. For example, the report states, ``Indonesian law provides that 
military prosecutors are accountable to the Supreme Court. In practice, 
however, they are responsible to the Indonesian Armed Forces for the 
application of laws.''
  With respect to the Moluccas and Papua, the report states that 
``according to international NGO reports, approximately 10 Moluccan 
independence activists, who were arrested in 2007, remain in custody. . 
. In January 2015, a court sentenced Simon Siya, a leader in the 
Moluccan independence movement, to five years in prison on treason 
charges. He remains in prison. The court also sentenced seven others to 
two-to-three years for displaying a banned separatist flag during a 
peaceful pro-independence demonstration in 2014. . . NGOs in Papua 
continued to report widespread monitoring of their activities by 
intelligence officials as well as indirect threats and intimidation.''
  Accusing people of being traitors and imprisoning them for peacefully 
supporting self-determination is itself a violation of human rights.
  Indonesia has come a long way since the dark days of President 
Suharto, but when it comes to military reform, it has fallen far short. 
In January 2018, it will be 10 years since Suharto's death; yet the 
military remains a largely opaque, unaccountable institution that has 
not even acknowledged the extent of its responsibility for past crimes. 
That needs to change.

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