US Pay attention to Military Indonesia
The United States (the USA) observed thoroughly the Indonesian military after Megawati Soekarnoputri's rise becoming the President the 5 RI, but they did not yet break whether increasing limited relations with the Troops of Nasional Indonesia, said a senior official Foreign Affairs Department the USA. The official, who asked to be not acknowledged as his identity, said to the reporter who went on a trip with US Minister for Foreign Affairs Colin Powell to Vietnam that TNI Angkatan Darat supported Megawati. He mentioned that AD uptil now was part of the big problem in Indonesia, but said also could become part of the solution.
The official said, the USA uptil now was considering increased contact military-to-military that was very limited with Indonesia, but mentioned that the step of that kind will depend in how the military have an attitude. "This really depended in how the Indonesian military reacted in the transparency, in akuntabilitas on several matters in the past, and in their merciless attitude in several rumours," said the official. Because of the restriction that was determined by the US Congress, Pemerintah USA was only permitted to have limited contact with the Indonesian military. The White House under President George W Bush and former President Bill Clinton uptil now was very limiting in permitting relations of that kind. The relations at this time were limited in the help exercise of the disaster and humanity, including a visit recently by the US marines who helped painted a school in Indonesia. The officials of the US defence wanted to establish again relations that were strong with the Indonesian military, but want to decisive that the Indonesian military side continue to was under the command and the control one
In Washington, a Pentagon spokesperson said, relations military-to-military with Indonesia not automatically changed as resulting from Megawati's rise. "We be sure that they could, and must, worked constructively with the Indonesian military in legal limits and the policy to fill the special US interests."