BURMA -- FORMER GENERAL REVIEWS RECENT VISIT,

C O N F I D E N T I A L JAKARTA 002980 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS (COPE),IO, IO/UNP (WICKBERG) NSC FOR EPHU E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/24/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM ID BM SUBJECT: BURMA -- FORMER GENERAL REVIEWS RECENT VISIT, MEETINGS WITH REGIME REF: A. JAKARTA 2956 AND PREVIOUS ¶B. RANGOON 1052 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: Pol/C Joseph Legend Novak, reasons 1.4 (b,d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY -- On October 24, Lt. General (ret,d) Agus Widjojo reviewed with Pol/C his recent visit to Burma for an official funeral. Widjojo--serving as a special Indonesian envoy--said he had met several regime figures on the margins of the trip. Widjojo said he had urged the regime to work with the democratic opposition and UN Special Envoy Gambari, noting that Indonesia stood by to assist in any way feasible. Widjojo said he had briefed the GOI on his visit. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) TRIP TO BURMA -- Former general Agus Widjojo on October 24 reviewed with Pol/C his recent visit to Burma for the funeral of prime minister Soe Win. Widjojo had traveled to Burma October 13-18 as part of a two-man official delegation from Jakarta, which included senior Department of Foreign Affairs (DEPLU) official Yuri Thamrin. ¶3. (C) REGIME MEETINGS -- Widjojo, who maintains close links in the GOI, confirmed that he had met acting Prime Minister Lt. General Thein Sein. Speaking on behalf of the Indonesian government, Widjojo said he had urged the regime to exercise restraint and try to find common ground with the democratic opposition. Thein Sein had made no commitments on that score, but had claimed the regime wanted "unity, reconciliation, and stability." Also, he had promised to continue to work with UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari. Widjojo said he had also urged the regime to work with Indonesia and ASEAN in any way possible. Widjojo told Pol/C he had stressed Indonesia,s own move away from a military-backed autocracy to a democratic system as a possible model for Burma. ¶4. (C) NO MEETING WITH OPPOSITION -- Widjojo said he had expressed an interest in meeting with opposition figures, such as Aung San Suu Kyi, but had not gotten anywhere. They had met with Maj. General Aung Kyi, the regime envoy to ASSK, who had assured them that the regime,s desire for dialogue was real. Widjojo said he had told Aung Kyi that it was important that ASSK be treated well and her detention ended. ¶5. (C) BRIEFING GOI -- Wrapping up, Widjojo said he had briefed key Indonesian government officials about his trip. Based on what he encountered, he believed that resolution of the situation in Burma would be "very difficult," but he hoped that Indonesia could play a positive role. Widjojo said he did not know whether the Indonesian government planned further efforts to reach out to the regime, above and beyond his visit and President Yudhoyono,s recent exchange of letters with regime strongman Than Shwe (Widjojo had requested a meeting with Than Shwe, but that had not occurred). ¶6. (C) STICKING TO THE BASICS -- Widjojo clearly was sent to Burma due to his military background and close connections in GOI circles. He is very capable, influential, and has taken on tricky assignments before, including his current role as Indonesia,s senior representative on the Commission for Truth and Friendship with East Timor. Based on his comments, WQojo hit the general themes re Indonesian policy towards Burma: restraint; the regime should work with Gambari; and Indonesia and ASEAN stand ready to help out if they can. HUME