DARFUR -- INDONESIA PREPARES PEACEKEEPING

C O N F I D E N T I A L JAKARTA 003410 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS. EAP/MLS, DRL, IO, IO/UNP SECDEF FOR USDP/ISA/AP - P.IPSEN NSC FOR E.PHU E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/17/2017 TAGS: PREL MARR KPKO PGOV ID SU SUBJECT: DARFUR -- INDONESIA PREPARES PEACEKEEPING DEPLOYMENT REF: A. JAKARTA 3267 ¶B. JAKARTA 2798 ¶C. JAKARTA 1785 Classified By: Pol/C Joseph Legend Novak, reasons 1.4 (b+d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The Indonesian government has confirmed that it is ready to send a force of 170 police to Darfur to contribute to UN Peacekeeping Operations in Sudan. The UN has requested that the officers arrive in early January 2008, but Indonesian funding issues will likely delay the unit's arrival until later. In addition, the GOI continues to be concerned about the situation on the ground. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) DEPLOYMENT ALMOST READY: Indonesian National Police (INP) Deputy Chief R. Markbul Padmanagara told us on December 14 that the UN had requested that the planned 170-member INP force arrive in Darfur in early January 2008. Padmanagara said the INP was awaiting funding for the deployment of support officers and equipment. The original FY-2007 funding for the expected deployment had expired and FY-2008 funding (the fiscal year begins January 1 in Indonesia) was not expected until mid-January. Despite this hurdle, Padmanagara said, Indonesia was ready and eager to support the UN peacekeeping mission in Darfur. ¶3. (SBU) The INP team had originally been scheduled to arrive in Darfur in early November. The ambush of African Union troops shortly before the planned deployment had led Indonesian President Yudhoyono and INP Chief Sutanto to delay a decision on deployment while the security situation in the Sudan was assessed more fully. In the meantime, the actual number of officers assigned to the mission has increased slightly from approximately 155 in the original plan to 170 in the current one. A Formed Police Unit (FPU) normally consists of about 140 officers. ¶4. (SBU) BRIEFING THE TEAM: With a deployment imminent, the INP has reiterated its willingness to receive a briefing on Sudan from Ambassador Hume. The Ambassador, who was Charge d'Affaires in Khartoum until May 2007, had offered the briefing based on his experience there and in the region. ¶5. (C) LINGERING CONCERNS: As reviewed in Ref A, Indonesian peacekeeping and stabilization troops are engaged around the world--including in Lebanon--under the UN aegis. As Indonesian peacekeeping and stabilization troops become better trained, their value to UN missions will only increase. An increasing proportion of the Indonesian stabilization police are drawn from the Mobile Brigade (aka Brimob). That said, regarding Darfur, the GOI remains concerned about the situation on the ground. While the GOI is not totally risk averse, further violence involving peacekeepers in that region could serve to delay the GOI deployment. HUME