INDONESIA HOSTS IPU ASSEMBLY AND PUTS THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 001276 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/07/2012 TAGS: PREL PHUM PGOV KDEM KISL UNSC BM ID SUBJECT: INDONESIA HOSTS IPU ASSEMBLY AND PUTS THE SPOTLIGHT ON IRAQ REF: A. JAKARTA 1186 (NEW WAY FORWARD ON IRAQ) ¶B. JAKARTA 972 (HEAT ON SBY AFTER IRAN VOTE) ¶C. JAKARTA 930 (FM GRILLED OVER IRAN VOTE) ¶D. 06 JAKARTA 13121 (SPEAKER WEATHERS VOUCHER SCANDAL) Classified By: Political Officer Eric W. Kneedler, reason: 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. On April 29, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono convened the 116th International Parliamentary Union Assembly in Bali, Indonesia. Parliamentarians from 126 of the 140 IPU member countries dispatched representatives to the Assembly, which ended May ¶4. The opening remarks of Agung Laksono, Chairman of Indonesia,s House of Representatives (DPR) and the default Chairman of the 116th IPU, urging the IPU delegates to endorse a resolution calling for "the United States and its allies to withdrawal from Iraqi territory," were greeted with heavy applause. President Yudhoyono, following in the wake of Chairman Laksono's speech, briefly departed from his prepared text on global warming and the importance of international harmony to stress the need for an immediate solution to the "crisis" in Iraq. The President then repeated the "triple track" solution that he proposed to President Bush during his November 2006 visit to Indonesia (Ref A). President Yudhoyono's remarks were also well received by the IPU delegates. After some debate and over the reservations of the Australians and Europeans, the Assembly adopted a resolution ostensibly on terrorism that includes language calling for the removal of "all foreign forces" from Iraq, to be replaced by peacekeepers (including from Muslim countries) operating under UN auspices. End Summary. INDONESIAN SPEAKER CRITICIZES IRAQ POLICY -------------- ¶2. (C) Chairman of Indonesia,s House of Representatives (DPR) Agung Laksono, well versed in the art of using anti-U.S. rhetoric to win over crowds, predictably used his opening remarks at the 116th International Parliamentary Union Assembly in Bali, Indonesia, to criticize U.S. policy in Iraq. Laksono began his speech by calling for democratic reform in Burma and urging international cooperation to combat terrorism, before turning his attention to events in the Middle East. With his domestic audience clearly in mind, Laksono condemned the use of force in general terms and argued that "the peace process in the Middle East must be conducted through peaceful means." Laksono then transitioned into a diatribe against the United States that was greeted with sustained and hearty applause. Laksono characterized Iraq as "our main concern," and proceeded to demand not only that the U.S. and "its allies" withdraw from Iraq immediately, but also that the UN "preserve security and restore the Iraqi people's sovereignty." Laksono held up the violence in Iraq as "an example of the inability of the United States and its allies to solve problems in Iraq, or accept responsibility for the consequences of their preemptive strike against a sovereign country." ¶3. (C) In advance of the IPU, we talked to Chairman Laksono's son, Dave Laksono, about his father's plans for the IPU. Dave told us that Chairman Laksono had agreed to partner with the OIC on a resolution addressing events in the Middle East. The OIC would do most of the legwork on a resolution condemning U.S. involvement in Iraq, Israeli "aggression," and "events in Iran," and Indonesia would use its currency as host to push it through. According to Dave Laksono, following Indonesia's decision to vote for UNSCR 1747 and the subsequent controversy in the DPR surrounding the vote (Refs B and C),Chairman Laksono decided the IPU in Bali might serve as the perfect vehicle through which Indonesia could re-establish its Muslim solidarity bona fides. Chairman Laksono intended to hold up his end of the bargain with the OIC and push the Middle East resolution aggressively from his position as IPU Chairman. When we asked Dave for his reaction to the Chairman's speech shortly after its delivery, Dave told us that it was "the hit of the show," and emphasized that the issue of military intervention on "sovereign soil" was what had truly resonated. ¶4. (C) Lakosno's speech clearly had the desired effect domestically, as his Iraq remarks have dominated Indonesian media coverage of the IPU and crowded out any other stories coming from Bali. Ulf Samuelsson, the Swedish Embassy Deputy JAKARTA 00001276 002 OF 003 Chief of Mission, told us that Sweden's 16-person IPU delegation had been taken aback by the stridently political nature of Laksono's speech. According to Samuelsson, the Swedish veterans of previous IPU assemblies felt that Laksono's remarks represented a significant break from the tradition of apolitical, non-controversial IPU opening statements. He noted, however, that while Laksono's Iraq speech had been a hit among some delegates, a significant segment of the audience was less enthusiastic. This was evident in the serious resistance the terrorism/Iraq resolution itself encountered in the general assembly, Samulesson said (para 8). Whatever enthusiasm the delegates had demonstrated for the rhetoric on the opening evening had not translated into anything approaching a consensus on the actual resolution. PRESIDENT YUDHOYONO'S REMARKS -------------- ¶5. (U) President Yudhoyono's followed Laksono's speech with remarks focused primarily on the impact of climate change and the need for international cooperation on the global warming issue. He urged the United States to "take part in post-Kyoto arrangements" and then argued that industrialized nations should invest in better technology to reduce green house emissions. He emphasized the importance of dialogue and outreach in international affairs, and praised the IPU as the kind of venue where differences and misunderstandings could be ironed out. ¶6. (C) At one point during his speech, undoubtedly mindful of Laksono's Iraq remarks and accusations that he is too closely associated with the United States, the President briefly diverted from his prepared remarks and stressed the need to solve the ongoing conflict in Iraq. He noted that President Bush had visited Indonesia in 2006, and told the delegates that he had proposed a solution to the problem. Repeating his "triple track" Iraq approach, SBY recommended a conference to promote internal reconciliation, notably between Sunnis and Shi'as; a United Nations blue helmet presence composed of forces from Muslim nations deployed in the context of replacing coalition forces; and a large infusion of reconstruction funds. President Yudhoyono's Iraq comments, like Chairman Laksono's before him, received the heaviest applause of the evening. ANTI-ISRAELI PROTESTS -------------- ¶7. (U) In the run-up to the Assembly, Islamist parliamentarians, mainstream Muslim leaders and radical Islamists like Abu Bakar Ba'asyir pandered to their constituencies by stridently denouncing possible Israeli attendance at the conference. The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) called on the Indonesia government to reject any participation by Israel (an IPU member country) and organized a handful of small demonstrations in Java. The umbrella Islamic Society Forum, which urged the government to deny the Israeli delegation entry visas, found strong allies within Parliament, including the speaker of the upper house and the deputy speaker of the lower house. Even the chairmen of Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) chimed in, with NU's Hasyim Muzadi obliquely suggesting that the Government of Indonesia did not bear responsibility if something should happen while the Israelis were in Indonesia since it was the IPU who invited them. The GOI offered a lukewarm defense of the Israelis' right to attend, but made clear that the Israelis would come at the IPU's behest, not the GOI's. In the end, the Israelis declined to send a delegation. ON THE IPU AGENDA -------------- ¶8. (U) The 116th IPU Assembly has focused officially on the overall theme of "Global Warming: ten years after Kyoto." Other pre-arranged topics of discussion for the week included the importance of religious tolerance, employment security in a globalized world, and democracy and human rights. But it was a resolution ostensibly on terrorism that generated the most debate. The "Resolution on International Cooperation to Combat Terrorism," introduced by the Indonesian, Indian, Algerian and Iranian delegations, includes relatively non-controversial provisions condemning terrorism, urging support for the UN International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, and calling for increased intergovernmental anti-terrorism cooperation. JAKARTA 00001276 003 OF 003 However, much of the resolution is devoted to the situation in Iraq. While denouncing terrorist attacks in Iraq, especially against civilians, the text also calls for the removal of "all foreign forces" from Iraq, to be replaced by peacekeepers operating under UN auspices. The resolution specifically calls for Muslim countries to contribute troops (echoing Indonesia's triple track initiative). According to local press reports, the IPU Secretary General, Sweden's Anders Johnsson, protested the draft resolution (on procedural grounds) through the IPU president, provoking counter-protests from the Venezuelan, Jordanian, Botswanan and Chilean delegations. In the end, the IPU adopted the resolution over the reservations of the Australians and several European delegations. The end-of-conference press release that the IPU posted on its website makes no mention of this resolution. HEFFERN