Readwrotes Blog

The United States announced Thursday it will resume cooperation with Indonesia's special forces after ties were severed more than a decade ago over human rights abuses allegedly committed by the commando unit. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates made the announcement after meeting with Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Thursday in the capital Jakarta. Indonesia had said it wanted the United States to reconsider resuming joint training. The decision will be seen as a victory for the Indonesian military, which has said it made great strides in improving its human rights record. Indonesia's special forces were accused of major abuses in the former Indonesian province of East Timor in the late 1990s. East Timor has since become independent. "I was pleased to be able to tell the president that as a result of Indonesian military reform over the past decade ... and recent actions taken by the Ministry of Defense to address human rights issu

Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Djoko Santoso has promoted 35 generals, consisting of 16 army generals, 11 navy admirals and 8 air force marshals. “It is expected that this time promotion will further enhance and improve the military performance so that we could give out the best output,” he said on Friday. Among those generals who receive the promotion is Rear Adm. Gunadi who is now posted as inspector general at the Defense Ministry, Maj. Gen. Langgeng Sulistyono, who is now posted as Diponegoro Military Commander and Rear Marshal Agus Dwi Putranto, who is installed as Abdulrahman Saleh Air Force Base Commander.

A magnitude-6 earthquake jolted North Sumatra on Saturday morning, but there were no damage or injuries reported. The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency recorded the quake hit at 9:11 a.m. The agency located the quake's epicenter at 18 kilomters northeast of Panyabungan, North Sumatra, at 10 kilometers beneath the surface. News portal kompas.com reported that the quake was also felt in a number of areas in the neighboring province of Riau.