IRAN: AMBASSADOR DEMARCHES INDONESIAN FOREIGN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 005779 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR IO, NEA/IR, AND EAP/MTS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/08/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KUNR KNNP UNHRC IR ID SUBJECT: IRAN: AMBASSADOR DEMARCHES INDONESIAN FOREIGN MINISTER WIRAJUDA REF: A. JAKARTA 5705 (IRANIAN PRESIDENT AHMADI-NEJAD'S VISIT TO INDONESIA) ¶B. STATE 72603 (DEMARCHE ON D-8 SUMMIT) ¶C. STATE 72724 (FINAL FOLLOW-UP ON CANDIDACY OF IRAN) Classified By: B. Lynn Pascoe, Ambassador. Reason: 1.4 (b, d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Ambassador urged Indonesian Foreign Minister Wirajuda to press Iran on its nuclear weapons development program during President Ahmadi-Nejad's state visit to Jakarta May 10-11 and during the D-8 Summit in Bali May 12-13, and to use extreme caution in making public statements on this matter. He also urged that the D-8 address issues relating Iraq and Palestine (reftel B) in a helpful manner. We also called on the GOI not to support Iran's bid for membership on the UN Human Rights Council, but received no reply (reftel C). Wirajuda confirmed that the GOI has a strong commitment to uphold the international nuclear non-proliferation regime and would urge Iran to do so. Wirajuda expressed concern that international pressure on Iran's nuclear program could have serious international repercussions, including economic ones. Ambassador responed that the international community could not be intimidated by Iran's bluster. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Ambassador held a May 8 meeting with Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda to express U.S. concerns re Iran's participation in the D-8 Summit in Bali, a state visit by Iranian President Ahmadi-Nejad (refs A, B),and Iran's candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council (ref C). Drawing on ref B, Ambassador said that President Ahmadi-Nejad would seek to exploit his state visit and the D-8 summit to deflect pressure from the international community over Iran's human rights record, destabilizing activities in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East, and its nuclear weapons program. He urged Wirajuda to ensure that language seeming to endorse Iran's position on any of these matters did not find its way into the D-8's final statement. The Ambassador stressed that neither Indonesia nor the D-8 as a whole should characterize Iran's nuclear program as peaceful in nature as that would contradict IAEA Secretary General El-Baradei's April 28 statement. Recalling President Yudhoyono's previous description of GOI views on this matter as "ninety percent" 
the same as ours, the Ambassador said that Indonesia finds itself in a strong position to urge Iran to comply with obligations to the IAEA and UN Security Council. On Iraq, Ambassador said that Iran's support for extremist Shiite groups has resulted in the deaths of Americans. Likewise, Iran has not helped in the fight against al-Qa'ida. ¶3. (C) Minister Wirajuda labeled the D-8 summit as an economic development event and that Iran's nuclear program would not appear on the agenda. He said that the GOI had made it clear to Iran "as a friend" that while Indonesia supports the development of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes it remains strongly committed to nonproliferation and opposes the diversion of nuclear technology for military uses. Wirajuda said that the GOI's had a clear position, but that he would reinforce it during Ahmadi-Nejad's visit. The GOI wants to see the matter settled peacefully, in a way that does not weaken provisions of the NPT permitting nuclear programs for civilian use. In its talks with Ahmadi-Nejad, the GOI would frame discussion of the nuclear issue in the larger context of regional stability in the Middle East, including Iraq and the Israel-Palestine conflict. ¶4. (C) Wirajuda then said that "as a Muslim country," Indonesia worried that "missteps" in handling Iran could have implications for other countries. He asked Ambassador how the Security Council would address the issue in the coming week. The Ambassador replied that we saw the way forward as clear: Iran must abide by its commitments to the IAEA and Non-Proliferation Treaty. The U.S., he said, saw no link between the Indonesian and the Iranian nuclear programs. Indonesia had adhered to international non-proliferation regimes, while Iran had an eighteen-year record of deception. JAKARTA 00005779 002 OF 002 ¶5. (C) Ambassador drew on Ref C to urge that Indonesia not support Iran's bid for the UN Human Rights Council. Iran has a terrible human rights record and has no qualifications to serve on the new Council. Wirajuda provided no reply on Indonesian voting intentions. ¶6. (C) The Ambassador closed by stating that Ahmadi-Nejad's visit presented an opportunity to clarify the GOI stance to the Indonesian public, particularly since we anticipated expressions of solidarity with Iran from members of Indonesia's Parliament and perhaps others. The GOI should stress that cooperation with the IAEA provided the only way forward on the Iranian nuclear issue. Ambassador urged Wirajuda to press Iran on this during the state visit as well as during the subsequent D-8 event. PASCOE