ACEH LAW INCHING CLOSER TO PASSAGE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 008064

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/27/2016
TAGS: PGOV KISL KDEM ID
SUBJECT: ACEH LAW INCHING CLOSER TO PASSAGE

REF: A. JAKARTA 6331 (LEGISLATURE AIMING TO PASS ACEH LAW)


B. JAKARTA 1374 (DPR TAKES UP ACEH LAW)

C. JAKARTA 5858 (SYARIAH IN ACEH)

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Classified By: POLITICAL OFFICER ERIC W. KNEEDLER, REASON 1.4 B AND D

SUMMARY
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1. (C) The Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR),moving
along at a characteristically glacial pace, continues to
deliberate the finer points of the draft law on Governing
Aceh at the Committee level. The principle remaining issue
involves fund transfers from the central government. While
all parties still express optimism in the law,s prospects,
passage before the DPR adjourns on July 21 remains a 50/50
proposition. End Summary.

DRAFT LAW STICKING POINTS
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2. (C) A Special DPR Committee tasked with developing a
consensus on the draft Law on Governing Aceh is reportedly
close to completing its work. (Note: Ref A described the
committee,s charge and notes that because of its
representative nature, any committee draft law is likely to
sail through the plenary. End Note). According to Andi
Mattalatta, Chairman of the Golkar faction in the DPR and a
member of the Special Aceh Committee, two issues remain
unresolved. The first relates to Aceh,s share of the
general allocation fund (DAU),a fund administered by the
central government with the goal of balancing out financial
capabilities among the regions. The Acehnese have requested
a two-percent share of the fund annually over a twenty year
period (a number that is in line with what Papua receives),
while the government,s most recent proposal would allocate
two-percent of the DAU per year over a fifteen year period,
followed by a one-percent share for an additional five years.
According to a British diplomat familiar with the
negotiations, the government has balked at the prospect of a
twenty year commitment of two-percent, noting the Acehnese
already receive significant transfers through reconstruction
funding.


3. (C) The other sticking point, according to Mattalatta,
concerns the actual title of the legislation. Reportedly the
Indonesian Democratic Party - Struggle (PDI-P) has pushed to
name the legislation the Law on the Government of the Special
Provincial Area of Aceh, while others have suggested the Law
on the Government of the Area of Aceh. A majority of
legislators appear to support the name included in the
original draft: the Law on the Government of Aceh; the
Acehnese have signaled their support for this name as well.

THE SYARIAH ISSUE
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4. (C) Based on local regulations, Islamic Law (Syariah) is
already in effect in Aceh (refs A and C). As detailed in ref
C, the current draft law does not specify the manner in which
Syariah would be implemented, but it does refer generally to
it being in effect. While there are legislators who are
clearly uncomfortable with the Syariah language, there
apparently is little or no stomach for a confrontation on the
issue. In a recent meeting with several PDI-P legislators
and PDI-P Secretary General Pramono Anung, the group conceded
to Poloff that many legislators found the Syariah language
troubling but simply would not be interested in using
political capital to try to eliminate or water it down.

AN OPTIMISTIC AND COMPLACENT DPR
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5. (C) With close to 100-percent of the draft law language
already in place, our contacts are almost uniformly confident
the draft bill will soon become law. In a recent
conversation that is representative of the mood in the DPR,
Marzuki Darusman, a Golkar legislator serving on the Special
Aceh Committee, dismissed the remaining issues as minor and
predicted the bill could be passed by the end of the month.


6. (C) Given the DPR,s notoriously unimpressive legislative
track record, one might expect that a sense of urgency would
prevail among parliamentarians eager to pass a historic piece
of legislation to generate favorable publicity. If anything,
the reverse may be true, as it increasingly appears that many

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legislators have already moved on, shifting their energies
and attention elsewhere because of a belief the bill is all
but passed. While there is ample evidence to support their
optimistic view of the bill,s prospects, there is still work
to be done and less enthusiasm to do it as recess approaches
and Aceh moves out of the headlines. The result could be
further delays, and the very real possibility that the bill
does not make it to a plenary session until after the July 21
recess.

COMMENT
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7. (C) The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the GOI
and GAM called for this law's passage by March 31, and with
each day that passes this always-unrealistic deadline seems
all the more so. The draft bill is still very much on track,
likely to pass without too much additional work, and could
even become law by sometime next week. Longstanding draft
language referring to Syariah law already being in effect in
Aceh will almost certainly be included in the final bill.
The one real danger, however, is that a prolonged delay could
put a brake on the positive momentum generated by the
landmark MOU between the GOI and GAM that ended the
thirty-year conflict.
AMSELEM