PKS DEMONSTRATION ONCE AGAIN INVOLVES THE USE OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 008263 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/03/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER KISL KDEM ASEC ID SUBJECT: PKS DEMONSTRATION ONCE AGAIN INVOLVES THE USE OF TOY GUNS REF: A. JAKARTA 8258 (DEMONSTRATIONS) ¶B. JAKARTA 7334 ("SHOOT THE JEWS" GAME) ¶C. 05 JAKARTA 5371 (REPLICA WEAPONS) JAKARTA 00008263 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Political Officer Eric W. Kneedler, reason 1.4 (d). SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) During a July 2 Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) demonstration at the U.S. Embassy protesting Israeli actions in Gaza, at least one demonstrator brandished a toy gun (ref A). On July 3 the leading local English language daily carried a prominent photo in which one such demonstrator gleefully pointed his mock weapon in the direction of an Israeli flag. We vigorously protested the use of toy weapons to the PKS leadership, emphasizing our concern about a possible mistaken reaction by the police and that this took place after recent assurances from party officials that toy weapons would no longer be used in conjunction with demonstrations (ref C). The PKS Chairman, Tifatul Sembiring, privately expressed regret this occurred and vowed to take disciplinary action against the cadre responsible for allowing the replica weapons to be used, while another PKS luminary complained about the misalignment of U.S. priorities. End Summary. THE REACTION FROM THE PKS CHAIR -------------- ¶2. (C) When we contacted PKS Chairman Tifatul Sembiring about the rally, he admitted he had seen the newspaper photo of the demonstrator with the replica gun and expressed remorse that a PKS demonstration once again involved the use of toy weapons. Tifatul conceded such displays were not only highly inappropriate from a symbolic standpoint, but as a practical matter also extremely dangerous because of their potential to alarm security personnel and mistakenly provoke conflict. ¶3. (C) Apparently seeking to absolve himself of any responsibility for the matter, Tifatul explained that he had not attended the demonstration because of an illness (Note: On June 30 he told us he was not feeling very well, but daily "Rakyat Merdeka" claimed Tifatul did attend and quoted remarks he allegedly made during the rally. End Note). Tifatul vowed to investigate the matter, find the cadre responsible for involving the use of the toy gun, and carry out unspecified disciplinary actions. A LESS DIPLOMATIC, MORE REVEALING REACTION -------------- ¶4. (C) In direct contrast to Tifatul's display of apparent contrition, Majelis Syuro and PKS Central Board member Luthfi Hassan Ishaq responded to our demarche on the toy gun issue with his own blunt assessment. Luthfi's English cell phone text message noted (with minor typos corrected) "I don't understand (your Ambassador's) political thought. He has an official comment about the game of war on CD (note: see ref B),and now gives a comment about toy guns while the civilian Muslims, children, women and human lives, basic needs, and facilities in the Middle East are demolished with real U.S. and Israeli weapons." COMMENT -------------- ¶5. (C) Between Tifatul and Luthfi's contrasting responses to our concerns, one can get a revealing sense of the tension within PKS to appear somewhat moderate and mainstream on one hand, and true to its core Islamist agenda, on the other. In a June 30 meeting with Tifatul at the PKS headquarters in Jakarta, we discussed the PKS leadership's efforts to disassociate the party from militant elements and establish a more moderate reputation. Tifatul inquired specifically about any lingering fallout stemming from PKS' vague affiliation with the "Shoot the Jews" video game (ref B),and expressed relief that we had conveyed Tifatul's letter on the matter in its entirety back to Washington. Based on the concerns Tifatul expressed about PKS's need to safeguard its public image -- which we believe were sincere -- we suspect he did not have prior knowledge of the use of replica weapons during the demonstration. JAKARTA 00008263 002.2 OF 002 PASCOE