World Report 2011 - Human Rights Watch

INTRODUCTIONers and to take action against future offenders–but the US did not conditionresumption of aid on such changes. Convicted offenders today remain in themilitary, and there is little reason to credit the military’s future pledge given itspoor record to date. Notably, the US did not insist that Indonesian PresidentSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono authorize a special court to investigate Kopassusofficers implicated in the abduction and presumed killing of student leaders in1997-98, a step already recommended by Indonesia’s own parliament. Andthe US did not insist on ending the military’s exclusive jurisdiction over crimescommitted by soldiers.Trivializing the significance of pressure, US Defense Secretary Robert Gatesjustified resuming direct ties with Kopassus: “Working with them further willproduce greater gains in human rights for people than simply standing backand shouting at people.” Yet even as the US was finalizing terms withIndonesia on resumption of aid to Kopassus, an Indonesian general implicatedin abductions of student leaders was promoted to deputy defense ministerand a colonel implicated in other serious abuses was named deputy commanderof Kopassus.A similarly misplaced faith in rubbing shoulders with abusive forces ratherthan applying pressure on them informed President Obama’s decision to continuemilitary aid to a series of governments that use child soldiers–Chad,Sudan, Yemen, and the Democratic Republic of Congo–despite a new US lawprohibiting such aid. In the case of Congo, for example, the military has hadchildren in its ranks since at least 2002, and a 2010 UN report found a “dramaticincrease” in the number of such children in the prior year. Instead ofusing a cutoff of military assistance to pressure these governments to stopusing child soldiers, the Obama administration waived the law to give the UStime to “work with” the offending militaries.15