MIDDLE EAST CRISIS MOBILIZING INDONESIA'S MUSLIMS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 009862 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/IET AND S/CT DOJ FOR CTS THORTON, AAG SWARTZ FBI FOR ETTIU/SSA ROTH E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/03/2016 TAGS: PREL PTER PGOV KISL ASEC AS ID SUBJECT: MIDDLE EAST CRISIS MOBILIZING INDONESIA'S MUSLIMS REF: JAKARTA 05039 NU CHAIRMAN MUZADI NERVOUS Classified By: Political Officer Adam West for reasn*s 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The conllict in the Middle East has dominated Indonesianh(eadlines over the past two weeks, and reports o Israeli military operations in Lebanon are spurring action by both political and non-political actos". Press coverage is almost universally one-side,, with front-page headlines emphasizing Israeli t tacks and U.S. backing for them. Editorials haee strongly condemned Israel while containing little or no discussion of the role of Hezbollah and t s supporters. The issue is providing common ground for moderate and radical Islamic groups to join forces in a series of major demonstrations, including one on August 4 that included between one and two thousand people in front of the U.S. Embassy, and a similar demonstration in Surabaya. More protests are expected over the weekend. Several groups, including a large bloc in Parliament, are claiming that Israeli actions are a direct result of U.S. support and calling for action against the United States. End Summary ¶2. (SBU) The conflict in the Middle East is generating front page press coverage daily, most of it focused entirely on Israeli attacks. Front page pictures routinely show fleeing Lebanese civilians, and headlines often refer to Israeli "savagery." The national Islamic daily Republika describes the conflict in one-sided terms, and in the mainstream daily Kompas even reasonably balanced editorials contain titles like "When Israel Kills Children." Front page stories on the emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Countries in Malaysia on August 3 all included pictures of President Yudhoyono and other foreign leaders greeting Iranian president Ahmadinejad, but contained no discussion of Iran's role in the conflict. ¶3. (SBU) The ongoing conflict is providing common ground for otherwise disparate organizations. Radical Islamic groups have predictably called for Jihad against Israel, and several are already offering to transport new recruits to the Middle East. So far we have seen no evidence to corroborate such claims. But moderate groups such as Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah have also condemned Israel's actions, as well as the Christian Indonesian Church Council and most of the national political parties. In an astounding statement, the GOI Youth and Sports Minister stated publicly his readiness to go personally to Lebanon to wage Jihad. (He was privately reprimanded for this by the Security Minister.) The August 4 protest (see below) was sponsored by over 25 Muslim organizations, including such unlikely bedfellows as the moderate NU, the hardline Islamic Defenders Front (whose members pelted the Embassy with stones during a demonstration last February),and Abu Bakar Ba'asyir's radical Majelis Mujihadin Indonesia (MMI). While these groups have cooperated before, most recently during last fall's protests over the Danish cartoons, this re-occurrence suggests that events in the Middle East may begin to radicalize groups that have historically had a more moderate orientation (reftel). ¶4. (SBU) Indonesians are increasingly linking Israeli attacks on Lebanon to U.S. support for Israel. Recent editorials in several newspapers have referred to U.S. support for Israel as a critical factor in the conflict. There have been large demonstrations in a number of cities, including Surakarta, Central Java, where demonstrators burned U.S. and Israeli flags. Between one and two thousand people joined a protest against "Zionist Savagery" in front of the Embassy on August 4, and seven people were briefly detained by police after a smaller demonstration July 28. Demonstrations also took place at CG Surabaya and CG Medan on August 4, and another is scheduled in Jakarta for August 6, this one billed as an inter-faith event. ¶5. (C) Many Indonesian political leaders have also made clear their disapproval of U.S. support for Israel. Eighty-four Parliamentary representatives, mainly from Islamist parties, signed a statement calling for a boycott of U.S. products. More tellingly, a large group of pro-American members of the political and business elite made clear their objections to U.S. policy in the Middle East at an August 3 gathering with Congressman Wexler. JAKARTA 00009862 002 OF 002 ¶6. (SBU) Details of demonstrations and other Embassy security developments are being reported separately via ASEC channel. PASCOE