National

IMET to Restart Soon
Thursday, 24 March, 2005 | 17:11 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta
“Hopefully, the senators will agree to restart the IMET program within the next two to three months,” Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono told reporters after meeting with the President at the State Palace on Thursday (23/3).

According to Juwono, this was agreed by the senators following meetings with the Indonesian Defense Ministry in Washington, USA, between March 12 and March 20.

Initially, these senators had been very critical about Indonesia, especially regarding the Indonesian Military (TNI) and human rights violations in Timor Leste five years ago.

However, after having heard explanations regarding actual problems, including Indonesia’s small defense budget, the senators and parliaments members were shocked.

“They were surprised that although Indonesia’s defense budget is the smallest in the world, the country is still able to survive, taking into account its large population and vast size,” said Juwono who met with six senators during the meetings.

The defense minister told US parliament members that Indonesia’s defense budget amounted to Rp21 trillion per year.

This is less than half of Singapore’s annual defense budget (Rp45 trillion), and almost one third of the Thailand’s annual defense budget (Rp50 trillion).

Sunariyah/Utomo Tri Rahasto

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