Editorial:

Indonesian and Australian militarists gather
while ASIS gets weapons

In yet another step towards the militarisation of Australian 
Government agencies, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer is to 
introduce legislation that will enable officers of the Australian 
Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) to carry arms in both national 
and overseas operations.

In justification, Downer cites the participation of ASIS 
operatives in the fight against terrorism. He says, "We're 
sending intelligence officers to follow up on terrorism and they 
operate in very difficult, very dangerous environments."

ASIS officers would also be allowed to work more closely with 
foreign intelligence agencies that routinely have staff carry 
weapons, such as the CIA.

The announcement reveals that ASIS operates overseas not only as 
an organisation gathering intelligence; it is also involved 
actively in the internal politics of other countries. As such 
ASIS will be a covert participant involved in conflicts and the 
possible assassination of alleged terrorists as part of the phony 
war on terrorism.

The likely partners of ASIS in this work are the American CIA, 
Mossad, the Israeli intelligence organisation that is notorious 
for its assassination of alleged Palestinian opponents of 
Israel's state terrorism, MI5 and other British intelligence 
organisations which sustains worldwide operations and, in the 
region, the Indonesian military's murderous commando force, 
Kopassus.

Not for nothing has Kopassus become notorious as the spearhead of 
repression and terror in Indonesia, against its own people. Then 
there is its role in the decades of occupation of East Timor and 
massacres that took place there, as well as the ongoing 
occupation of West Papua. It is the military force that sustained 
the dictatorship of General Soeharto for 30 years.

Downer is reported as saying that in the past ASIS did not have 
paramilitary capabilities so the use of weapons was unnecessary. 
Does the proposed change indicate that ASIS has now become a 
paramilitary organisation? It is a description that is synonymous 
with death squads in a number of countries.

The ban on ASIS carrying weapons was first introduced in the 
early 1980s following an ASIS raid on the Sheraton Hotel in 
Melbourne. ASIS went on a rampage, threatening civilians and 
bashing in doors. Has the behaviour of ASIS changed?

The Howard Government decided in August to re-establish relations 
with the Kopassus and Defence Minister Robert Hill has proposed 
the resumption of training in Australia of Kopassus forces.

A Kopassus delegation to Australia has only been put on hold 
because the delegation was to include Major-General Sriyanto. The 
Major-General is on trial for murder in an Indonesian human 
rights court.

However, he remains in his command and would be a welcome visitor 
as far as the Australian Government is concerned.

It is timely to recall that in 1995 Paul Keating and Gareth Evans 
secretly entered into a  "security" treaty with the Soeharto 
regime. It was an attempt to head off the revolutionary changes 
that were about to break out in Indonesia and to enlist Indonesia 
in the wider plans of imperialism in the Asian region.

Militarist and political forces that are prepared to play this 
role continue to exist in Indonesia. The idea of a new treaty was 
raised during the recent visit of Indonesia's Minister for 
Security Mr Yudhoyono, who is a former four-star general of the 
Indonesian army. He urges "cooperation", claiming that 9/11 has 
changed everything.

Richard Woolcott, a former Australian Ambassador to Indonesia 
immediately welcomed the idea saying that he supported a renewed 
"defence agreement".

These "straws in the wind" are a clear indication that the 
militarists in the imperialist camp are getting together in a 
number of countries to defend their common interests against the 
rising tide of peoples resistance.

Although talk of a new "security" treaty has been downplayed by 
Alexander Downer the idea is clearly alive and well among the 
fascist-minded militarists in both Indonesia and Australia. It is 
a step that they will be working hard behind the scenes to bring 
about — soon!