Washington said on Thursday it was dropping a ban on ties with Indonesia's special forces, imposed over human rights abuses in the 1990s, a move that may eventually allow combat training of the once-notorious unit. The decision, announced during a visit by Defence Secretary Robert Gates to Jakarta, was taken after Indonesia took steps requested by Washington including removal of convicted human rights violators from the organisation's ranks.
Activists in Indonesia swiftly condemned the move and questioned President Barack Obama's commitment to human rights. Gates, after meeting Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, said the resumption of security co-operation activities would be "gradual" and "limited".
"These initial steps will take place within the limits of US law and do not signal any lessening of the importance we place on human rights and accountability," Gates said. Human rights groups have voiced concern, however, that the roughly 5,000-strong special forces unit, known as Kopassus, still harbours rights offenders who committed abuses in East Timor and elsewhere but never convicted.
Gates defended the Obama administration's commitment to human rights and said working with countries that make an effort to reform was better than "simply standing back and shouting". US defence officials also played down concerns about Kopassus itself. "There has been a dramatic change in that unit over the last decade the percentage of suspicious bad actors in the unit is tiny," said Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell.