Nancy Pelosi: “I rise in support of the Frank-Kennedy-Reed amendment to prohibit IMET for Indonesia. I appreciate Chairman Callahan's…”

“I rise in support of the Frank-Kennedy-Reed amendment to prohibit IMET for Indonesia. I appreciate Chairman Callahan's initiative last year and again this year to limit IMET for Indonesia to expanded-IMET only. Nonetheless, in light of continuing human rights abuses and Indonesia's economic strength I do not believe that the Indonesian military should be trained with United States taxpayers' dollars. According to the U.S. State Department's country reports on human rights practices for 1995, human rights in Indonesia continued to be a problem. The report notes that--in Indonesia 'there continued to be numerous, credible reports of human rights abuses by the military and police * * *.'' The human rights problems in Indonesia noted by the State Department report include: The (Indonesian) Government continued to commit serious human rights abuses. The most serious abuses included harsh repression of dissidents in East Timor, Aceh, and Irian Jaya. Reports of extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and torture of those in custody by security forces increased. Reports of arbitrary arrests and detentions and the use of excessive violence (including deadly force) in dealing with suspected criminals or perceived troublemakers continued. The State Department's report also states: Elements of the armed forces continued to be responsible for the most serious human rights abuses.”