INDONESIAN OFFICIAL ON KOSOVO, IRAN AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L JAKARTA 001733 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/22/2017 TAGS: PREL UNSC OSCE PARM ID SUBJECT: INDONESIAN OFFICIAL ON KOSOVO, IRAN AND PALESTINIANS REF: A. JAKARTA 1577 AND PREVIOUS ON KOSOVO ¶B. JAKARTA 930 AND PREVIOUS ON IRAN Classified By: CDA John A. Heffern, for reasons 1.4 (b,d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Charge on June 21 discussed Kosovo, Iran, and the Palestinians with Desra Percaya, a key Foreign Ministry official on UNSC and Middle East issues. Percaya welcomed recent changes in the draft Kosovo resolution and requested one additional change: that the reference to "sui generis" be moved from the preamble to an operative paragraph. He said Indonesia would at least abstain on the resolution but did not rule out a possible affirmative vote if Russia could be convinced to go along. He said former FM Alwi Shihab had urged Iran to honor its nuclear commitments and comply with IAEA requirements during his recent visit to Tehran but had received no favorable response. On the GOI's proposed unofficial "track two" conference here with Hamas and Fatah representatives, notionally slated for August, Percaya said its main goal was to encourage Hamas to honor the three Quartet conditions. End summary. ¶2. (C) On June 21, Charge pressed Desra Percaya, Director General for Multilateral and Disarmament Affairs, to support the European resolution on Kosovo and to press Iran on the nuclear issue, regional arms shipments and statements about the destruction of Israel. He also asked Percaya about reports that FM Wirajuda was pursuing some type of dialogue with Palestinian representatives. KOSOVO ¶3. (C) Percaya said the GOI was pleased with the addition of an initial grace period of four months to the resolution, which would make possible another round of Belgrade-Pristina negotiations. President Yudhoyono had recommended additional negotiations in his recent meeting with UNSYG Ban, and the GOI considered this revision consistent with Yudhoyono's request. Percaya also welcomed the term "sui generis" in the preamble of the resolution, as an assurance that the resolution was not a precedent. He said the term would be stronger in the operative paragraphs, however, and asked us to consider moving it there. Such operative language would help the GOI explain to nationalists here, especially in the Parliament, he explained, that any attempt by Papuans or other separatists to cite this resolution as a basis for their own aspirations would have no legal basis. Pressed about whether this change would result in a favorable Indonesian vote, Percaya said Russia's position would be a critical factor. IRAN ¶4. (C) Percaya said former FM Alwi Shihab's just-concluded visit to Tehran had included a meeting with President Ahmedinejad, who had strongly criticized Indonesia's support for UNSC 1747. Shihab had urged Ahmedinejad and other GOI leaders to change course on nuclear issues and meet its IAEA and UNSC obligations. Otherwise, Iran faced increasing isolation. Shihab had reminded the Iranians that Indonesia had tried to be helpful when the UNSC had considered the British sailor issue and the President's instant statement about Israel. Percaya made it clear that Shihab had received no hint of compromise from Ahmedinejad on any of these issues. Percaya added that the Iranian President remained a source of great frustration to President Yudhoyono and others in the GOI, but declined to offer any specifics of what the GOI might do or say to counter him. Shihab reportedly had told the Iranian press at the end of the visit that Jakarta supported peaceful nuclear energy for Iran. Charge urged Percaya (as we have him and other GOi officials in the past) to add the clause "but not the pursuit of nuclear weapons" to this well-known GOI position. DIALOGUE WITH THE PALESTINIANS (C) Percaya confirmed that FM Wirajuda remained interested in pursuing an informal "track two" dialogue In Jakarta with Palestinians. Current thinking was that the dialogue would include both Hamas and Fatah. The purpose of the dialogue, however, would not be reconciliation per se, but rather to urge Hamas to take action to meet the three Quartet conditions and thereby end their isolation. Percaya confirmed that Michael Vatikiotis of the Henry Dunant Center for Humanitarian Dialogue in Geneva/Singapore had been instrumental is setting up this dialogue. The next step would be a meeting of NGOs in Oslo on "mediation." Percaya said the FM still hoped the dialogue could take place as early as August, despite recent events in the Palestinian Territories. Efforts to recruit non-official Americans to this event had been disappointing: so far, only one American academic from Beirut had agreed to participate. HEFFERN