INDONESIAN PEACEKEEPING -- LEBANON, DARFUR AND THE

UNCLAS JAKARTA 003267 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, DRL, IO SECDEF FOR USDP/ISA/AP P.IPSEN JOINT STAFF FOR CLEMMONS NSC FOR E.PHU E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL MARR KPKO PGOV PHUM ID SUBJECT: INDONESIAN PEACEKEEPING -- LEBANON, DARFUR AND THE WORLD REF: A. JAKARTA 2798 ¶B. JAKARTA 1785 ¶C. JAKARTA 228 ¶1. (U) This message is Sensitive but Unclassified -- Please handle accordingly. ¶2. (U) SUMMARY: Indonesia is sending a fresh battalion of peacekeeping troops to the United Nations Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The 850-member battalion from the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) replaces the initial battalion deployed a year ago. The Indonesian National Police (INP) is ready to contribute 145 stabilization police to Darfur once President Yudhyono approves the mission. Indonesia remains a robust contributor to global peacekeeping missions and is expanding its total capacity to 2,000 troops worldwide. END SUMMARY. ¶3. (U) TNI TRANCHE TWO TO LEBANON: On November 12, the Indonesian military began deploying a new battalion of troops to Lebanon as part of Indonesia's contribution to UNIFIL. The 850-member unit, Garuda XXIII-B, will replace Garuda XXIII-A, which arrived in November 2006, and will be fully in place by December 1. The new unit reportedly consists of 528 army officers, 242 naval officers, 60 air force officers, 16 military headquarters staff, one officer from the Department of Defense and three staff from the Department of Foreign Affairs. ¶4. (U) IN PLACE BY DECEMBER 1: The first batch of 284 troops departed Jakarta aboard a United Nations-charted Boeing 747 on November 12. The aircraft returned with Garuda XXIII-A soldiers who had completed their one-year tour of duty. The remainder of the replacement troops are scheduled to depart Jakarta on November 28 and December 1. ¶5. (SBU) INP READY FOR DARFUR: The Indonesian National Police (INP) has also prepared a unit of trained stabilization police officers for deployment to the Darfur region of Sudan in December in support of UN operations there (ref b). The INP is prepared to send about 145 officers in total, depending on need. An advance team of five INP officers have been in Darfur for some time. Since the ambush, murder and kidnapping of several African Union (AU) troops in September (ref a),the INP leadership and President Yudhyono have delayed a decision on deployment while they re-evaluate the situation. ¶6. (SBU) WORLDWIDE ENGAGEMENT: According to information from the Indonesian Department of Defense and Department of Foreign Affairs (DEPLU) and the United Nations, Indonesian TNI and/or INP personnel are currently in the ground in six countries: Lebanon - 856 personnel, Congo - 190 personnel, Liberia - 3 personnel, Georgia - 4 personnel, Nepal - 6 personnel, and Sudan - 16 personnel. Those in Lebanon and Congo are UN Peacekeeping troops; the small contingents in other countries consist of observers. The TNI in Congo are an engineering unit which is building roads and air runways. ¶7. (SBU) U.S. ASSISTANCE BUILDS CAPACITY: Peacekeeping has a long history in Indonesia, which has made it a hallmark of its non-aligned security posture. That tradition has grown stronger under democracy, and President Yudhoyono recently approved a plan to build Indonesia's combined capacity of peacekeeping troops and stabilization police to 2,000 within the next several years. Indonesia sees its PKO role in the UN context, but it welcomes assistance from the U.S. and other countries to build Indonesia's capacity in line with UN standards. Indonesia now receives $5-7 million annually in military peacekeeping training under the U.S. Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI). Indonesia is also sending a steady stream of trainees to the U.S.-supported Center for Excellence for Stabilization Police Units (CoESPU) in Vicenza, Italy (ref c). HUME