REP. FALEOMAVAEGA MEETS WITH PRESIDENT YUDHOYONO

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001874 SIPDIS SIPDIS H FOR KAREN GATZ E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM ID PREL KDEM EAID SUBJECT: REP. FALEOMAVAEGA MEETS WITH PRESIDENT YUDHOYONO REF: A) JAKARTA 1266 B) JAKARTA 852 C) JAKARTA 291 JAKARTA 00001874 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. Summary. During a July 3-6 visit to Jakarta, Rep. Eni Faleomavaega met with the President, Vice President and the Foreign Minister, receiving promises from all three that he could go to Papua the next time he visits Indonesia, despite being refused permission on this trip. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told the Democratic representative from American Samoa that the old ways of using military means to solve issues in Papua have failed, and that his government's "New Deal" for Papua emphasizes "soft power" based on democratic values, rule of law and respect for human rights, as well as adequate funding to fight poverty. Faleomavaega replied that he believes the GOI is committed to helping the Papuan people. Faleomavaega's willingness to come to Jakarta and listen to the leadership's Papua policy has built considerable goodwill that will ease future Congressional entre to that politically sensitive region. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Rep. Eni Faleomavaega visited Jakarta July 3-6 to meet with senior government officials and Papuan civil society leaders (see septel on meetings with Papuans), following the GOI's refusal to allow him to visit Papua on this trip. President Yudhoyono, Vice President Kalla and Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda all promised Faleomavaega that he could visit Papua the next time he comes to Indonesia. The DCM, a PolOff and members of Faleomavaega's staff also attended all official meetings. According to foreign ministry sources, the Foreign Minister supported Faleomavaega's visiting Papua, and the President was leaning in that direction, when members of a separatist movement in Maluku displayed a pro-separatist flag in front of the President during his visit to Ambon on June 29. This incident heightened sensitivities towards separatist movements at the precise moment the President was weighing whether to allow Faleomavaega to visit Papua. At the same time, from July 2-6 in Jayapura, Papua, the Papuan Customary Council was holding a Papua-wide regional congress, with hundreds of pro-separatist village leaders gathered in Jayapura. Skittishness by security officials in Papua over the proposed timing of Faleomavaega visit, coupled with the Maluku flag incident which greatly embarrassed Yudhoyono, �0A;made it impossible for the President to grant permission at that time, GOI sources told us. Nevertheless, the GOI apologized to Faleomavaega for denying his request, granting him high-level meetings and allowing some civil society leaders to come to Jakarta to meet with him. ¶3. In a July 6 meeting, Vice President Kalla went so far as to promise to accompany Faleomavaega to Papua the "next time" he visits, and shook hands on the promise. However, Kalla also started off the meeting stating that he is concerned by past statements by some members of the U.S. Congress that could be construed as advocating separatism in Papua. Faleomavaega responded by saying he hopes to dispel the notion that he is trying to cause any friction between the U.S. and Indonesia, and that he appreciates efforts by the Yudhoyono administration to resolve issues in Papua. Following the meeting, Kalla reportedly told the media that he asked Faleomavaega not to interfere with Indonesia's internal affairs, including Papua, telling the media, "If an Indonesian parliament member went to Hawaii and asked the Hawaiians to separate from the U.S., the person could be arrested," according to newspaper reports. Besides the governors of Papua and West Papua, others who attended the meeting included the Coordinating Minister for Security, Political and Law Affairs Widodo, (whose ministry has opposed the Papuan visit),Minister of Fisheries Freddy Numberi (a Papuan),the Foreign Minister, the State Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary. ¶4. During his July 5 meeting with Faleomavaega, the President told Faleomavaega that his government is implementing a "New Deal" to speed up economic development in Papua, outlining the Presidential Decree he issued a few weeks ago mandating increased food production, better education, improved health services, better transportation to remote areas and affirmative action for Papuans in local and national government. The President also emphasized that the old ways of using "hard" power to deal with Papua had failed, and have been replaced with "soft power" based on "democratic values, rule of law and respect for human rights." The military cannot be the solution, Yudhoyono said, noting that even though he is a top former military commander, as President he led the successful peace process in Aceh at a JAKARTA 00001874 002.2 OF 002 time when it was "unthinkable" to deal with separatists in any way other than to crush them. The President asserted that his government is addressing past human rights abuses by the military in Papua, and that in addition to military reform, soldiers are increasingly respectful of human rights. He added that "accidents" still occur which disrupt the process of solving Papua's problems and that military reform must continue. ¶5. The President also said that under Special Autonomy, Papuans are being given a freer hand to solve their own problems, noting the presence in the meeting of Papuan Governor Barnabas Suebu and West Papua Governor Abraham Ataruri, who had both just flown in from Papua expressly to meet with Faleomavaega. The President claimed that the GOI is sending more funding to Papua than it is receiving in revenues: $840 million in funding versus $230 in revenues in 2005; $1.9 billion versus $420 million in 2006; and $2.3 billion in funding budgeted for 2007. While this funding is not enough to solve Papua's deep-rooted problems, Papua's 2.5 million people do receive the highest per capita assistance in Indonesia, the President claimed. ¶6. Explaining how his interest in Papua stems from the fact that members of his family were missionaries in Papua about a hundred years ago, Faleomavaega thanked the President for his leadership and commitment to the Papuan people. Faleomavaega said the USG also has resources to help Papua, adding that Freeport might be used as a partner in building infrastructure. ¶7. Faleomavaega also told the President and other senior officials that Indonesia, as a moderate, democratic nation, has a critical role to play in relating to other Muslim nations, particularly since it is the world's largest Muslim nation and has the world's fourth largest population. The Congressman also asked for Indonesia's help in finding a solution for the situation in Iraq. He expressed hope that the U.S. and Indonesia, along with other moderate Muslim countries, could continue to live together in harmony. ¶8. At a press conference following the meeting, Presidential foreign affairs advisor Dino Djalal described the meeting as very warm, "an extraordinary one, one of the most extraordinary meetings" the President has had. The meeting got extensive television and print media coverage. ¶9. (SBU) Rep. Faleomavaega gave permission for Embassy Jakarta to send this cable without his clearance. HUME