RELIGOUS EXTREMISTS SEEKING "SHORTCUT TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 001853

STATE FOR EAP, EAP/PIMBS;
OSD FOR USDP/ISA/AP SCHER;
USCINCPAC FOR FPA
NAIROBI FOR MARK CLARK

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/20/2012
TAGS: PGOV PREL ID US
SUBJECT: RELIGOUS EXTREMISTS SEEKING "SHORTCUT TO
PARADISE," COORDINATING MINISTER KALLA TELLS A/S KELLY


1. (U) CLASSIFIED BY POLOFF I. REED, REASON 1. 5 (D).


2. (C) SUMMARY: COORDINATING PEOPLE'S WELFARE MINISTER JUSUF
KALLA TOLD VISITING EAP A/S JAMES KELLY MAY 18 THAT ECONOMIC
MARGINALIZATION OF LOCALS WAS THE ROOT CAUSE OF INDONESIA'S
COMMUNAL AND SEPARATIST CONFLICTS. HE DOWNPLAYED THE
IMPORTANCE OF RELIGIOUS EXTREMISTS AND OTHER POWERFUL VESTED
INTERESTS, CHARACTERIZING THEM MORE AS A SYMPTOM THAN A
CAUSE. THE GOI'S APPROACH TO SOLVING THE CONFLICTS, KALLA
SAID, WOULD BE TO REDUCE POVERTY AND IMPROVE HEALTH,
EDUCATION, SOCIAL SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE, WHILE LEAVING
"THE REST" TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR. IN A LAND WHERE FEAR OF
RELIGIOUS EXTREMISTS AND UNSEEN MALEVOLENT FORCES OFTEN
STYMIES ACTION, KALLA'S EMPHASIS ON ECONOMICS AND GOVERNMENT
SERVICES WAS REFRESHING, AND MAY HELP EXPLAIN WHY HIS
POLITICAL STAR IS RISING. AS USUAL, THE HARD PART WILL BE
FOLLOW-THROUGH. END SUMMARY.


3. (C) COORDINATING MINISTER FOR PEOPLE'S WELFARE JUSUF KALLA
DISCUSSED INDONESIA'S SEPARATIST AND COMMUNAL CONFLICTS AND
OTHER ISSUES UNDER HIS SUPERVISION IN A MAY 18 MEETING WITH
VISITING EAP ASSISTANT SECRETARY JAMES KELLY, ACCOMPANIED BY
CHARGE. PRIVATE SECRETARY SUTEDJO JUWONO, GENERAL ELECTIONS
COMMISSIONER HAMID AWALUDIN, AND A NOTETAKER JOINED MINISTER
KALLA. EAP SENIOR ADVISOR THERESA MCNIEL, USAID DIRECTOR,
CONTROL OFFICER LISA WILKINSON, AND POLOFF (NOTETAKER) ALSO
ACCOMPANIED A/S KELLY.

IT'S THE ECONOMY
--------------

4. (C) A/S KELLY THANKED KALLA FOR HIS AND THE GOI'S EFFORTS
TO FIND SOLUTIONS TO CONFLICTS IN MALUKU AND CENTRAL
SULAWESI, WHICH THE USG STRONGLY SUPPORTED. KALLA TOLD A/S
KELLY THAT ECONOMIC MARGINALIZATION OF LOCAL COMMUNITIES WAS
THE ROOT CAUSE OF ALL OF INDONESIA'S COMMUNAL AND SEPARATIST
CONFLICTS. HE TRACED THIS PHENOMENON TO SOEHARTO-ERA GOI
POLICIES, IN PARTICULAR THE GRANTING OF MONOPOLIES OVER KEY
COMMODITIES -- INCLUDING CLOVES, TIMBER, COFFEE, AND CANE FOR
FURNITURE -- TO CRONIES OF THE RULING ELITE, THUS SHUTTING
LOCAL COMMUNITIES OUT OF THE BENEFITS. MEANWHILE,
TRANSMIGRATION POLICIES HAD CREATED RESENTMENT BY HELPING TO
DISPLACE LOCALS WITH HARDER WORKING MIGRANTS.


5. (C) KALLA NOTED THAT THE ADVENT OF DEMOCRACY HAD ALSO
HELPED UNRAVEL ONCE CAREFULLY MANAGED BALANCES OF POWER
BETWEEN RELIGIOUS GROUPS. IN REGIONS SUCH AS CENTRAL
SULAWESI AND MALUKU, WHERE GROUPS OF RELIGIOUS MINORITIES
WERE LARGE OR POPULATIONS WERE ROUGHLY BALANCED, THE
GOVERNMENT PARCELED OUT IMPORTANT POSITIONS AS GOVERNORS OR
DISTRICT HEADS ACCORDING TO TRADITIONS THAT REFLECTED THE
STRENGTH OF EACH RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY. CURRENTLY, WHICHEVER
SIDE MUSTERED A MAJORITY IN THE LOCAL LEGISLATURE COULD FILL
THE POSITIONS OVERWHELMINGLY WITH MEMBERS OF ITS OWN
COMMUNITY.


6. (C) IN THE CASE OF MALUKU, HISTORIC IMBALANCES IN
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES WERE ALSO A FACTOR, KALLA SAID.
CHRISTIANS WERE FAR BETTER EDUCATED DURING THE COLONIAL
PERIOD, BUT LATER MOVED TO JAKARTA SEEKING OPPORTUNITIES.
MUSLIMS REPLACED THEM IN IMPORTANT POSITIONS, WHERE THEY NOW
DOMINATED. KALLA NOTED, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT FIFTEEN OF
NINETEEN HEADS OF DEPARTMENT IN THE AMBON ADMINISTRATION WERE
NOW MUSLIM, EVEN THOUGH THE POPULATIONS OF THE TWO
COMMUNITIES WERE ROUGHLY BALANCED.

EXTREMISTS ON ICE
--------------

7. (C) THE CHARGE ASKED FOR KALLA'S VIEWS ON A RECENT MEDIA
DEBATE THAT FOLLOWED THE ARREST OF LASKAR JIHAD LEADER JAFFAR
UMAR THALIB OVER WHETHER EXTREMIST GROUPS WERE REALLY THE
MAIN SOURCE OF PROBLEMS. KALLA DOWNPLAYED THE IMPORTANCE OF
SUCH GROUPS OR OFTEN-RUMORED PROVOCATION FROM OTHER POWERFUL
VESTED INTERESTS, SUGGESTING THEY WERE A SYMPTOM MORE THAN A
CAUSE OF THE CONFLICTS. RETRACING THE HISTORY OF MALUKU, HE
CLAIMED THAT IT STARTED AS A COMMUNAL CONFLICT RESULTING FROM
ECONOMIC MARGINALIZATION OF THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY, AND THAT
FOR THE FIRST YEAR THE CHRISTIANS WERE MORE AGGRESSIVE. IN
AN EFFORT TO TIP THE BALANCE, LASKAR JIHAD (LJ) BEGAN
MOBILIZING MUSLIMS FROM JAVA TO AMBON SIX MONTHS LATER,
GAINING FINANCIAL SUPPORT BY HIGHLIGHTING ITS HEALTH AND
HUMANITARIAN EFFORTS. SIX MONTHS LATER, THE CHRISTIAN SIDE
PRODUCED THE MALUKU SOVEREIGNTY FRONT (FKM).


8. (C) KALLA CLAIMED THAT THIS SEQUENCE EXPLAINED WHY THE GOI
HAD FOCUSED FIRST ON REPAIRING RELATIONS BETWEEN THE LOCAL
COMMUNITIES DURING THE MALINO I AND II PROCESSES (AGREEMENTS
STRUCK EARLIER THIS YEAR INTENDED TO SETTLE THE CENTRAL
SULAWESI AND MALUKU CONFLICTS, RESPECTIVELY). HE SUGGESTED
THAT THAT EFFORT HAD BEEN LARGELY SUCCESSFUL, NOTING THAT A
RECENT OUTBREAK OF VIOLENCE IN MALUKU HAD INVOLVED ONLY
MILITIAS AND NOT LOCAL PEOPLE. THE GOI HAD SUBSEQUENTLY
ARRESTED LJ LEADER THALIB AND THE FKM'S LEADER REMAINED IN
DETENTION, HE ADDED. KALLA PREDICTED THE SITUATION IN MALUKU
WOULD IMPROVE IN JUNE, ALLUDING TO A DEADLINE (OFTEN EXTENDED
PREVIOUSLY) FOR OUTSIDE COMBATANTS TO WITHDRAW. KELLY
QUESTIONED WHETHER AN IMPROVING SECURITY SITUATION NATIONWIDE
INDICATED THAT COMMUNAL CONFLICTS WERE A "SPENT FORCE" AND
WHETHER CONFLICT AREAS WOULD REMAIN PEACEFUL AFTER SECURITY
FORCES WERE WITHDRAWN.

SEEKING "SHORTCUT TO PARADISE"
--------------

9. (C) KALLA SUGGESTED THAT SEPARATIST CONFLICTS WERE EASIER
TO RESOLVE THAN THOSE WITH RELIGIOUS OVERTONES. THE
RELIGIOUS MILITIAS INCLUDED MANY THUGS WHO SOUGHT A "SHORTCUT
TO PARADISE" PRECISELY BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT PARTICULARLY
RELIGIOUS. CONVINCED THAT HEAVEN WAS ON THEIR SIDE IN A
RELIGIOUS WAR, THESE COMBATANTS WERE UNAFRAID TO DIE. SINCE
CHARITY ALSO EARNED ONE CREDIT TO GET INTO HEAVEN, THERE WERE
MANY PEOPLE, INCLUDING FROM OUTSIDE OF INDONESIA, EAGER TO
GIVE LASKAR JIHAD MONEY. KALLA SAID HE HAD TOLD MILITIA
MEMBERS ON BOTH SIDES THAT THIS WAS NOT A LEGITIMATE
RELIGIOUS WAR, AND THAT THEIR ACTIONS WOULD LIKELY EARN THEM
A TRIP TO HELL.


10. (C) THE SEPARATIST MOVEMENTS IN ACEH AND WEST PAPUA
REMAINED LARGELY BASED ON ECONOMIC GRIEVANCES, KALLA
SUGGESTED, WHILE COMPARING THE STUBBORN RESISTANCE OF THE
ACEHNESE TO THAT OF THE APACHE INDIANS. WEST PAPUA WOULD BE
EASIER TO RESOLVE, HE ARGUED, AS THE NEW SPECIAL AUTONOMY LAW
TRANSFERRED GREATER CONTROL OF POLITICS AND ECONOMIC
RESOURCES TO THE LOCAL PEOPLE. THE FEARLESSNESS OF HOLY
WARRIORS MADE RELIGIOUS CONFLICTS FAR BLOODIER, KALLA NOTED,
CLAIMING THAT THE ESTIMATED FIVE THOUSAND PEOPLE KILLED IN
THE MALUKU CONFLICT OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS WAS TEN TIMES
THE DEATH TOLL IN ACEH. (NOTE: KALLA'S ESTIMATE OF THE ACEH
DEAD APPEARS TO BE A SERIOUS UNDERESTIMATE, WITH THE DEATH
TOLL SO FAR THIS YEAR ALREADY APPROACHING FOUR HUNDRED. END
NOTE.)


11. (C) A/S KELLY THANKED KALLA FOR HIS EFFORTS IN BROKERING
THE MALINO AGREEMENTS AND IN TRYING TO ADDRESS THE COUNTRY'S
PROBLEMS WITH INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS (IDP'S). HE
REITERATED THAT THE UNITED STATES STRONGLY SUPPORTED
INDONESIA'S TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY, AND NOTED THAT HIS DEPUTY
ASSISTANT SECRETARY, MATHEW DALEY, HAD VISITED GAM LEADERS IN
STOCKHOLM THIS MONTH TO URGE THAT THEY ACCEPT THE ACEH
SPECIAL AUTONOMY LAW AS A BASIS FOR A POLITICAL SETTLEMENT.


12. (C) KALLA SAID THE IDP PROBLEM WOULD BECOME EASIER TO
SOLVE AS SECURITY IMPROVED THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. NOTING
THAT HE WOULD ACCOMPANY PRESIDENT MEGAWATI TO EAST TIMOR'S
MAY 19 INDEPENDENCE CELEBRATION, KALLA PROJECTED THAT AS MANY
AS FOUR-FIFTHS OF THE REMAINING FIFTY THOUSAND IDP'S IN WEST
TIMOR MIGHT RETURN HOME BY AUGUST. A/S KELLY PRAISED
MEGAWATI'S DECISION TO ATTEND THE CELEBRATION, NOTING THAT
SHE TOOK A POLITICAL RISK IN DOING SO BUT THAT IT WOULD HELP
ENCOURAGE IDP'S TO RETURN.

THE SOLUTION -- ENDING POVERTY, IMPROVING EDUCATION
-------------- --------------

13. (C) KALLA STRESSED THE IMPORTANCE OF POVERTY REDUCTION IN
RESOLVING ALL OF INDONESIA'S SEPARATIST AND COMMUNAL
CONFLICTS. THE GOI WOULD FOCUS ITS EFFORTS ON IMPROVING
HEALTH, EDUCATION, SOCIAL SERVICES AND BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE,
WHILE LEAVING "THE REST TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR." OVER THE
LONGER TERM, THE GOI HAD TO IMPROVE THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM TO
ADDRESS BOTH ECONOMIC PROBLEMS AND RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM.


14. (C) A/S KELLY ASKED ABOUT OTHER ISSUES TOUCHING ON
KALLA'S AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY, INCLUDING HEALTH AND THE
ENVIRONMENT. KALLA RESPONDED THAT IN ITS APPROACH TO HEALTH
CARE, THE GOI WAS RETURNING TO THE TRADITION OF HAVING
CLINICS IN EACH VILLAGE STAFFED AT MINIMUM WITH A NURSE
CAPABLE OF DOING IMMUNIZATIONS. KALLA DOWNPLAYED CONCERNS
ABOUT AN EL NINO-INDUCED DROUGHT THIS YEAR, SAYING HE WAS
CONFIDENT THAT STOCKS OF RICE WERE SUFFICIENT TO AVOID A
LARGE-SCALE DISASTER. RECALLING JAKARTA'S SEVERE FLOODS
EARLY THIS YEAR, KALLA NOTED THAT FLOODS COULD BE AS
DANGEROUS AS DROUGHT.


15. (C) KALLA POINTED OUT THAT DURING INDONESIA'S 1998
ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS, IT HAD NOT BEEN DROUGHT BUT RATHER
ACCOMPANYING FOREST FIRES THAT HAD DONE THE MOST DAMAGE.
KALLA SUGGESTED THE RISK OF A REPETITION OF EL NINO MAY
NEARLY HAVE PASSED, AS MAY AND JUNE TENDED TO BE THE DRIEST
MONTHS. A/S KELLY ASKED KALLA ABOUT THE CONDITION OF
INDONESIA'S CORAL REEFS. THE MINISTER ASSERTED THAT
FISHERMEN ARE BETTER TRAINED THAN PREVIOUSLY TO AVOID
DYNAMITE FISHING, BUT THAT THE GOI NEEDED MORE CAPACITY TO
POLICE ITS WATERS.

COMMENT
--------------


16. (C) SOURCES SAY THAT KALLA, WITH HIS BUSINESS BACKGROUND,
APPROACHES HIS JOB WITH A CAN-DO ATTITUDE THAT BORDERS ON
NAIVETE. BUT HIS EMPHASIS ON ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT IS
REFRESHING IN A PLACE WHERE EVERY UNFORTUNATE EVENT IS SEEN
AS THE WORK OF MALEVOLENT AND UNSEEN HANDS, WHOSE FEARED
POWER THEN BECOMES AN EXCUSE FOR INACTION. THE PRESENCE OF
LASKAR JIHAD IN MALUKU IS A SERIOUS OBSTACLE TO PEACE, AND
THE REAL REASON THE GOI HAS NOT EVICTED THEM IS FEAR OF AN
ISLAMIST POLITICAL BACKLASH. BUT KALLA IS RIGHT TO KEEP THE
MILITIAS AND RUMORS OF MILITARY PROVOCATEURS INTO
PERSPECTIVE. THE GOI MUST LEARN HOW TO HANDLE THE LIKES OF
LASKAR JIHAD, FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS. MEANWHILE, A LOT
COULD BE ACCOMPLISHED IF THE GOI STARTED TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON
KALLA'S OWN PRESCRIPTION: POVERTY REDUCTION, AND IMPROVEMENTS
TO HEALTH, EDUCATION, SOCIAL SERVICES, AND INFRASTRUCTURE,
AND PRIVATE SECTOR COMPETITION.


17. (U) A/S KELLY HAS CLEARED THIS MESSAGE.


MULL