________________________________________________
      A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
            http://www.ainfos.ca/
 ________________________________________________


For Immediate Release: March 15, 1998
Contact: Lynn Fredriksson at 202-544-6911 or [log in to unmask]

Joint Press Conferences:

Tuesday March 17, 9 AM,
2105 Rayburn HOB, U.S. Congress, Washington, DC and
Monday March 16, 11 PM (EST), Sari Pan Pacific Hotel, Kencana Rm-4th floor,
Jakarta, Indonesia

PENTAGON DOCUMENTS SHOW INDONESIAN MIILITARY TRAINING DESPITE CONGRESSIONAL
BAN

At 11 PM March 16 EST (11 AM March 17 Jakarta time), veteran journalist
Allan Nairn, in Jakarta, Indonesia, will release newly acquired Pentagon
documents revealing ongoing U.S. training of the Indonesian KOPASSUS and
other Indonesian military forces responsible for severe human rights
abuses. The Pentagon programs described in these documents, including Air
Assaults and Advanced Sniper Techniques have been provided from 1992-1997
without congressional knowledge and despite congressional bans.  It is
anticipated that Nairn could be arrested immediately and detained by one of
the same Indonesian military units whose training these documents cite.

In this week's Nation, Nairn wrote:  "newly obtained Pentagon documents
and interviews with key U.S. officials indicate that, largely unknown to
Congress and unremarked by the U.S. press, the U.S. military has been
training ABRI [the Indonesian military] in a broad array of lethal tactics.
This dwarfs IMET [International Military Education and Training] in size
and scope, and is apparently being intensified as the Indonesia crisis
deepens."

At 9 AM March 17, the East Timor Action Network (ETAN), in coordination
with Congressman Lane Evans' office, will release the same Pentagon
documents in Washington, DC. Several Congress- people (TBA) will make
appearances or statements.  These offices have spearheaded successful
efforts to ban the IMET program to Indonesia, and continue to oppose all
U.S. training of Indonesian forces due to dire human rights abuses,
particularly in occupied East Timor.

ETAN National Coordinator Charles Scheiner and Washington Representative
Lynn Fredriksson will detail the Pentagon training and abuses committed by
Indonesian forces receiving this training, especially the KOPASSUS.
Scheiner, just returned from Jakarta, witnessed increasing repression and a
vast troop build-up meant to stifle dissent over Indonesia's economic and
political crisis.  This comes at a time when the U.S. Congress is
considering some $18 billion dollars to reimburse IMF bailout of the
Suharto regime.

In 1992 the U.S. Congress first banned the IMET program, after Nairn, and
WBAI/Pacifica reporter Amy Goodman, survived the Santa Cruz massacre in
Dili, East Timor on November 12, 1991.  Since 1995 Congress has maintained
a ban on what was thought to be all direct military training to Indonesia.
According to the new documents, among the programs provided in 1998 alone
are seven in which U.S. Army and Air Force units trained the Indonesian
elite Special Forces unit, KOPASSUS. In East Timor, occupied for the past
22 years, arbitrary arrests, torture, and executions continue unabated.


---------------------------------------------------------------
Lynn Fredriksson, Washington Representative
East Timor Action Network
110 Maryland Avenue NE #30
Washington, DC 20002
202-544-6911; 202-546-5103 (fax)
[log in to unmask]




                        ********
                The A-Infos News Service
                        ********
                COMMANDS: [log in to unmask]
                REPLIES: [log in to unmask]
                HELP: [log in to unmask]
                WWW: http://www.ainfos.ca/