Allan Nairn on Obama and Kopassus Training

UPDATE: Nairn's article with more details is now online at his blog.

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Allan Nairn appeared on Democracy Now! on Friday to discuss President Obama's again postponed visit to Indonesia and discussions within the Obama administration about whether (how?) to once again train Indonesia's notorious special forces Kopassus.

Some in the Obama administration (and the Indonesian military) argue that rights violations are in the past. Nairn's  key revelation is that Kopassus were involved in the murder of activist in Aceh in 2009:

I’ve just come out with a piece that shows that the Indonesian army and Kopassus have been involved in a series of recent assassinations of civilian political activists. The piece names the names of the officers involved, including a Kopassus general named Sunarko. These assassinations were carried out in the region of Aceh in late 2009.

The activists were from the Partai Aceh.

According to a senior Indonesian official with detailed information on these murders, they’re part of a program of political murder being carried out by TNI, the Indonesian armed forces, and Kopassus and by military intelligence. And so, these killings are still going on today. And Obama is about to give them new aid on the pretense that the Indonesian army has reformed and has stopped killing civilians, which is false.

Read the transcript, listen to the audio or watch the full interview here. Or watch below:

Part 1:



Part 2: