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In a second rebuke to
The Indonesian military began a large-scale offensive against separatist
guerrillas in Aceh nearly two weeks ago, after peace talks collapsed. The government
said it would no longer tolerate the demands for independence by the rebels,
who have resisted successive army offensives for nearly 30 years.
Mr. Wolfowitz, who is considered one of the staunchest supporters of the
Indonesian military in the Bush administration, offered the criticisms after
meeting with the Indonesian defense secretary, Matori Abdul Djalil, here. The
two men were attending a conference on defense issues in
The Bush administration has been trying to find ways to restore financial
aid to the Indonesian military, which lost American aid in the 1990's because
of human rights abuses by the army in East Timor. In the past year, the
Pentagon has offered the Indonesian Army training in counterterrorism and won
Congressional approval to restart a prestigious, though limited, program of
training in the
But Mr. Wolfowitz suggested today that these new measures might be in
jeopardy, or at the very least would go no further, if the Indonesian military
and its civilian overseers did not do more to meet the administration's
expectations.
A number of civilians have been killed already in the current campaign,
which the government says will last for six months. The government has warned
foreign aid organizations to leave the province.
In one incident last week near the Bireuen regency, south of the provincial
capital, Banda Aceh, the military said that 10 people, including a 13-year-old,
were killed in a firefight. But witnesses said some of these people were
summarily executed, an account that Western military experts in
Mr. Wolfowitz said the
"At the same time we believe very strongly the solution has to be a
political one," he said. He urged the Indonesians to accept the offers of
nongovernmental organizations to act as monitors in Aceh. "I told the
minister that it would be helpful if actions of the armed forces are
transparent," he said. The National Commission on Human Rights said this
week that it would press ahead with sending observers to Aceh, despite the
government's reservations.
The offices of the rights group Kontras were attacked by a paramilitary
group in
Mr. Wolfowitz took a particularly strong stand on the lack of progress on
the investigation into the deaths last August of two American teachers whose
vehicles came under fire as they returned from a picnic in Irian Jaya. They
were employees of the New Orleans-based mining corporation, Freeport-McMoRan
Copper and Gold.
A report by the Indonesian police in Irian Jaya, headed at the time by the
respected Gen. I Made Mangku Pastika, concluded there was a "strong
possibility" that the Indonesian military was behind the killings. Some
American officials agreed with General Pastika's findings at the time.
"The issue of the
An American official familiar with the proceedings of Mr. Wolfowitz's
meeting with the defense minister said the deputy secretary had made it clear
that the Bush administration was demanding that the civilian and military
branches of the Indonesian government be more forthcoming about the incident.
F.B.I. agents have visited Irian Jaya on several occasions but have been
frustrated in efforts to conclude an investigation by lack of cooperation by
the Indonesians, a senior American official said.
The deaths of the Americans, Ricky Spier of Colorado and Edwin Burgon of
Idaho, have taken on a new urgency in recent weeks as Mr. Spier's widow, Patsy
Spier, has traveled to Washington and lobbied Congress and the Bush
administration to make a definitive investigation.
Mrs. Spier met with Mr. Wolfowitz earlier this month. She made an impression
with her arguments, Pentagon officials said. Members of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee also met with her. Last week, the committee voted
unanimously to urge the Bush administration not to go ahead with spending
$400,000 that was approved last year for training Indonesian officers in the