INDONESIA SUPPORTS UN DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L JAKARTA 012541 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/13/2011 TAGS: PHUM PREL KTIA UN ID SUBJECT: INDONESIA SUPPORTS UN DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES REF: STATE 169257 Classified By: PolCouns Marc L. Dejardins, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Polcouns and counterparts from the Australian and New Zealand Embassies delivered reftel demarche to Jonny Sinaga, deputy director in the Department of Foreign Affairs' Directorate for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs. We presented the main points of the demarche, emphasizing the contradictions between the draft declaration and Indonesia's own stated domestic and foreign policies on a broad range of issues, including territorial unity, the claims of ethnic minorities, self-determination and strong sensitivity when foreigners raise or are seen to be interfering in such issues in the Indonesian context. ¶2. (C) Sinaga expressed at length the GOI's comprehension of the three countries' point of view, suggested that Indonesia agreed with many of them, and then proceeded to explain why Indonesia supports the document. He argued that -- Indonesia interprets "self-determination" as not according any domestic group any right to pursue a separatist cause, adding that there are only 16 non-self-governing territories in the world recognized as such by the United Nations. The Vienna 1993 Program of Action on Human Rights made clear that self-determination does not encompass separatism. He added that in international documents there are at least five different recognized interpretations for self-determination. He suggested that the handicapped could be said to have the right to self-determination. -- Indonesia believes that "indigenous people" deserve special protections, but added that all Indonesians are indigenous by definition; -- Indonesia would be criticized by the international community as not supportive of human rights if it opposed this initiative; -- the document has already been discussed for over ten years; -- it is not final; and -- Indonesia's approach is "based on dialogue." ¶3. (C) Comment: Sinaga's response made clear that Indonesia will support the document and will interpret it in any way necessary to ensure that it cannot be said to contradict Indonesian policy. Comparisons between the GOI's exacting positions in negotiations on bilateral matters with its seeming lack of concern about the principles contained in the draft declaration gained no traction. In effect, the actual meaning of the draft declaration's contents seemed essentially irrelevant to the conversation from the Indonesian perspective. End Comment PASCOE