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

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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