WAY FORWARD ON TRAINING INDONESIAN SPECIAL FORCES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001873 SIPDIS DEPT FOR D, P, EAP A/S HILL, DRL A/S KRAMER, EAP/MTS, EAP/RSP, EAP/MLS, L, DRL/AWH, DRL/MLGA NSC FOR E.PHU SECDEF FOR USDP/ISA/APSA D.WALTON E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/07/2018 TAGS: PREL PHUM MARR ID SUBJECT: WAY FORWARD ON TRAINING INDONESIAN SPECIAL FORCES Classified By: Ambassador Cameron R. Hume, reasons 1.4(b+d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: This message provides input for the upcoming meeting between EAP A/S Hill and DRL A/S Kramer regarding a way forward in determining whether Indonesian security units previously associated with human rights violations have been sufficiently rehabilitated for purposes of Leahy vetting. It is keyed directly to specific criteria currently proposed by DRL. Mission believes these criteria warrant further engagement with Indonesian security forces. ¶2. (C) SUMMARY (Con'd): A review of two internationally accepted lists of security personnel linked to violence in East Timor reveals that only a handful of the hundreds listed are still in active service. Additional corrective factors include regular turnover in unit personnel every few years, a regime change to a democratic government with respect for human rights, a reconciliation agreement between Indonesia and Timor-Leste and a landmark trial. END SUMMARY. RETIREMENT OF RESPONSIBLE OFFICERS ¶3. (C) Mission has no "blacklist" of alleged abusers. It has only the names of Indonesian military personnel who previously have failed to pass vetting. In order to determine the extent to which former human rights violators have been removed from the system, Mission reviewed the current status of the personnel in lists compiled by other institutions regarding human rights violations in East Timor, notably lists from the United Nations Serious Crimes Unit (SCU) and the Timor-Leste Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR). ¶4. (C) According to Mission's review of the SCU list, only four Indonesian military officers on a list of 283 officers are still confirmed to be active military, none of them in the Army Special Forces (KOPASSUS). Another seven are possibly still active, but cannot be confirmed either way on the basis of information currently available to Mission. ¶5. (C) The CAVR list contains approximately 150 names of senior Indonesian military officials. Only one of them is still in active service. OTHER CRITERIA ¶6. (C) Complete Turnover in Unit Personnel: Officers in military units and police rotate out of these units every three to five years, with command elements turning over more frequently. Any officer serving in a unit today normally would not have served in that unit five years ago. ¶7. (C) Regime Change: The vast majority of gross human rights abuses occurred under the Suharto regime or within a year of its collapse. Since the conflict in Aceh ended in early 2005, there have been only isolated incidents by security forces. Democratic Indonesia has moved quickly to strong protection of human rights by security forces. ¶8. (C) National Reconciliation Agreements: The Commission of Truth and Friendship Indonesia-Timor Leste (CTF) assigned institutional responsibility to Indonesian security forces for gross human rights violations that occurred in Timor-Leste in 1999, and President Yudhoyono publicly accepted this responsibility when he received the report in July 2008. The GOI is now working to carry out CTF recommendations, which include additional human rights training for security forces and broad institutional reforms to prevent abuses from occurring in the future. ¶9. (C) Accountability: In a landmark case, the alleged JAKARTA 00001873 002 OF 002 mastermind behind the murder of human rights activist Munir Said Thalib is now on trial. Muchdi Purwopranjono was a deputy director of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) at the time when Munir was murdered. He also is linked to abductions and disappearances of student activists in 1998 when he as head of KOPASSUS. BACKGROUND ON THE LISTS ¶10. (C) The Serious Crimes Unit (SCU) was established by the United Nations Transitional Authority in East Timor (UNTAET) following UN Security Council Resolution 1272 (1999). As mandated by the United Nations Security Council, the SCU was responsible for conducting investigations and preparing indictments to bring to justice those responsible for crimes against humanity and other serious crimes committed in East Timor between 1 January and 25 October 1999. The list consists of 283 names of Indonesian and East Timorese military and civilian officials. ¶11. (C) The Timor-Leste Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR) was created to complement the SCU process. It was an independent, statutory authority led by seven East Timorese Commissioners and mandated by UNTAET Regulation 2001/10 to undertake truth seeking for the period 1974-1999. It's 2,800 page report refers to individuals with high-level responsibility for the crimes and violations of human rights which took place in that time period. The list contains approximately 150 names of Indonesian military officials and all but one have retired or are deceased. HUME