By Jon Land
United States journalist and East Timor solidarity activist Allan Nairn was deported from Jakarta on March 18. Indonesian authorities threatened Nairn that if he entered Indonesia again he would be jailed for up to six years.
Police detained Nairn at the Sari Pacific Hotel after he called a media conference the previous day to condemn the military training and aid provided by the US government to the Suharto regime. "I think the US should cease supporting ABRI [the Indonesian armed forces] and Suharto, and throw its support to democratic elements and movements in Indonesia", he told the media.
At the conference, Nairn released documents explaining that the Bush and Clinton administrations provided military training to the Indonesian military despite a 1992 congress ban on such training in response to the 1991 Dili Massacre. "[The training] is being done apparently without the knowledge of key members of the US congress who have been setting Indonesia policy", he said.
There have been at least 36 ABRI "training courses" run by the US between 1992 and 1997. The courses have included sniper training, urban warfare, explosives and techniques for controlling civilian unrest. According to Nairn, 20 of the courses have involved the infamous Kopassus division of the Indonesian military, an elite special force responsible for human rights abuses throughout Indonesia and East Timor. Kopassus, which is headed by General Prabowo, Suharto's son-in-law, has been more visible on the streets of Jakarta and other cities during the recent unrest.
An article by Nairn in the March 30 issue of the Nation has created a stir in the US. It reveals the extent of US military assistance offered to Suharto in preparation for the political crisis he is currently facing.
The Clinton administration has defended the military training and aid. State Department spokesperson Jamie Rubin said, "These joint exercises enhance American military readiness and increase US engagement with an important country".