TORQUING UP PRESSURE ON GOI, LEGISLATURE EMBRACES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 002298

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/21/2017
TAGS: PGOV ECON KDEM KISL EAID ID
SUBJECT: TORQUING UP PRESSURE ON GOI, LEGISLATURE EMBRACES
MUD FLOW WATCHDOG ROLE

REF: A. JAKARTA 2248


B. JAKARTA 2186

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Classified By: Pol/C Joseph Legend Novak for reasons 1.4(b,d).


1. (C) Summary: The Indonesian House of Representatives
(DPR) has created an oversight body to monitor the
reconstruction and rehabilitation of affected areas, as well
as the disbursement of compensation to victims of the East
Java mudflow. A move by the DPR to query formally the
President over the mudflow disaster has been delayed for
three months. The DPR is clearly growing increasingly
frustrated and is intent on ramping up the pressure on the
Yudhoyono administration over this matter. End Summary.


2. (U) On August 20, the DPR announced the formation of a
50-member watchdog group designed to monitor the disbursement
of state funds allocated for Sidoarjo mud-flow related
reconstruction (Ref B). The group will also track the flow
of compensation to mud-flow victims funded by the PT Lapindo
Bras Corporation. (Note: Lapindo is widely blamed for
initiating the mud flow, which has displaced thousands and
continues to wreak environmental and economic havoc. End
Note).


3. (U) Meanwhile, on August 21, the DPR agreed to postpone
any decision on whether to query the President on the Lapindo
issue through a formal call for interpellation. The DPR
agreed that the GOI's efforts should be evaluated during the
next three months before a decision on interpellation would
be made. (Note: Interpellation is a
Constitutionally-sanctioned demand that the President appear
before the DPR to answer questions. The President's office
has effectively been able to short-circuit prior DPR demands
that President Yudhoyono personally appear, including over
the GOI's vote in favor of UNSCR 1747 regarding Iran's
nuclear program. End Note).


4. (U) In his 2008 state budget, President Yudhoyono
earmarked approximately $125 million to help repair
infrastructure in East Java. The President only recently
decided to allocate funding for mud-flow related
reconstruction and repair after PT Lapindo Bras demonstrated
that it would not be able to absorb the costs on its own.
Previously, the President had insisted Lapindo bear all of
the costs associated with the disaster.


5. (C) In remarks to the media, DPR Deputy Speaker Muhaimin
Iskandar announced the new DPR oversight body would "monitor
everything and report both to the House leadership and the
President." He emphasized that the group would be charged
with ensuring the money "went to the right people," and
certifying that the Sidoarjo Mudflow Mitigation Board was run
well. Alvin Lie, M.P. of the National Mandate Party, told
POL/C that the standing committee would be comprised of
"approximately 50 people," and would help ensure the
equitable distribution of both the reconstruction and
compensation funding pools. Lie confirmed that he would be a
member of the body, adding that he had noticed "a huge
frustration in the DPR that more was not being done for the
victims" in Sidoarjo.


6. (C) As the GOI continues to grapple with the economic and
political implications of the mud-flow disaster, this latest
move by the DPR constitutes only the most recent
manifestation of the legislature's increasingly active
approach on the issue. According to Golkar parliamentarian
Yuddy Chrisnandi, one of the President's foremost critics on
the mud-flow disaster, the President would have only three
months to demonstrate real progress on the issue before the
DPR would be forced to contemplate more seriously a
politically charged interpellation maneuver. Embassy
contacts agree that any effort to initiate a call for
interpellation on the Lapindo issue would likely trigger a
political battle that would dwarf the Iran interpellation
struggle from earlier this year.

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