Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07JAKARTA452
2007-02-20 09:01:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Jakarta
Cable title:  

AMBASSADOR'S FAREWELL CALL ON DEFENSE MINISTER

Tags:  PREL MARR PGOV PHUM ID 
pdf how-to read a cable
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INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS PRIORITY
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 0448
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON PRIORITY 1351
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RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 000452 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/20/2017
TAGS: PREL MARR PGOV PHUM ID
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S FAREWELL CALL ON DEFENSE MINISTER
SUDARSONO

Classified By: CDA John A. Heffern, for reasons 1.4 (b,d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 000452

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/20/2017
TAGS: PREL MARR PGOV PHUM ID
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S FAREWELL CALL ON DEFENSE MINISTER
SUDARSONO

Classified By: CDA John A. Heffern, for reasons 1.4 (b,d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: In a farewell call on Indonesian Defense
Minister Juwono Sudarsono on February 16, the Ambassador
reviewed progress in bilateral relations and military-to-
military cooperation and stressed continued progress on
military reform was important to a good relationship.
Describing Papua as his major concern in departing Indonesia,
Ambassador urged greater openness and suggested the
government was misinterpreting as insurgency a simple desire
of Papuans for jobs and a fair share of Papua's wealth. He
also raised U.S. concerns about the promotion of military
officers responsible for human rights abuses. Sudarsono
thanked the Ambassador for the disaster relief the U.S.
military had rendered, said the Indonesian military's
near-term strategic objective was force mobility and asserted
Indonesia's "territorial command" supported civilian
governance and assisted the police. He said elements in the
military and the intelligence services were concerned about
Papuan separatism and he acknowledged U.S. concerns about
military promotions. End Summary.

GROWING BILATERAL COOPERATION


2. (C) Ambassador said Indonesia and the United States had a
good relationship and had been able to move forward over the
past two and a half years. There was support from both
capitals and the timing was right. Better
military-to-military relations were important as such, but
they also provided a psychological boost by demonstrating
that the two countries were equal partners. Cooperation had
grown from almost no exercises to over 175 activities per
year. The Ambassador stressed that cooperation was designed
for those areas that Indonesia considered most important.
The United States hoped to see a professional, modern
military that served and supported democracy. The GOI had
seemed to want the same thing. Removing the Indonesian Armed
Forces (TNI) from politics had helped greatly to improve its
image at home and in Washington. The new image, as defender

of the country, was much more positive and had changed the
military's relationship with the Indonesian people.


3. (C) Sudarsono thanked the Ambassador and the United States
for the progress in cooperation during the Ambassador's
tenure in Jakarta. President Yudhoyono's visit to Washington
in May 2005 and President Bush's visit to Bogor in 2006 had
provided a framework for that progress, including the lifting
of U.S. sanctions on military assistance to Indonesia. The
GOI had begun to change the TNI's image in the public eye,
but it would require time to put substance on the fact that
Indonesia had become the world's third largest democracy.
The defining moment in U.S.-Indonesian military cooperation
had been the tsunami of December 2004, which had put the
Indonesian and U.S. militaries side by side in relief
operations. Press photographs of the operation showed this
cooperation graphically.

FUTURE REFORM AGENDA


4. (C) The Ambassador said that it was important to continue
to make progress on military reform. Indonesia was
modernizing its military procurement process and had begun
working with the Defense Resource Management Study (DRMS).
To maintain the momentum, it would be good to review the
agenda over the next few months to see if it might be
updated. There was still much room to cooperate on
peacekeeping operations. Indonesia already had a strong
tradition in this area, and the need for peacekeepers was
growing. He had conveyed the same message to Indonesian
Police Chief Sutanto.


5. (C) Sudarsono said TNI restructuring plans were focused on
mobility, but a dedicated strike force was beyond Indonesia's
capability. The military's territorial command was poorly
understood. Observers saw the territorial commands as a
means for the military to control civilian administration,
but in fact, the territorial commands supported regional and
local civilian government. This was a useful traditional
function of the TNI. The Ambassador remarked that this
depended on whether they were seen as helping to build the
community or simply had their hands out for money. Sudarsono
agreed but noted the TNI was supporting the Indonesian Police
(INP) by collecting evidence. The police were effective
after a crime, but needed help from the TNI in preventing
crimes.


JAKARTA 00000452 002 OF 002


AREA OF CONCERN: PAPUA


6. (C) The Ambassador noted he had visited Papua in January
and had called on congressional leaders on Papua in
Washington during his most recent visit there. The visit had
reinforced his impression that Papua's problem was
fundamentally one of economics: that the main things Papuans
wanted were money and jobs. Newly installed Governor Suebu
seemed to be headed in the right direction and wanted
technical assistance most of all. Acknowledging the central
government's concern about separatism, the Ambassador said
his biggest worry in leaving Indonesia was Papua. Keeping
Papua closed to the outside would continue to breed "the
wildest stories," which the outside world would accept
because it had no other point of reference. Events in Aceh
over the past two years had shown the benefits of opening up.
The fact that interested visitors could not get access to
Papua was counterproductive.


7. (C) Sudarsono replied that the issue was "a matter of
degree." Some in the TNI, he confirmed, still worried about
separatism. The Indonesian Intelligence Agency (BIN) was
also concerned. Australian church groups and NGOs were
encouraging separatism. Tribal rivalries could flare up in
the absence of security forces. The Ambassador replied that
he was not recommending a troop pull-out but rather a
conceptual change. Publicly, Jakarta continued to project an
image of insurgency in Papua. In reality, Papuans simply
wanted a fair share of the province's wealth.


8. (C) Sudarsono said the GOI had held a cabinet meeting the
previous day on Papua, which Governor Suebu had attended. At
$1.5 billion, Papua had the highest income of any Indonesian
province, including transfers from Jakarta. The problem was
a lack of infrastructure and trained personnel to deliver
that money to the people. The Ambassador noted that
Embassy's USAID Director, who had accompanied the Ambassador
on his recent visit to Papua, was planning to return to Papua
in March to help develop assistance programs.


9. (C) Sudarsono said the challenge was less daunting in West
Papua province (former West Irian Jaya) than in Papua because
nature was less severe, although both provinces needed
development. The governor of West Papua was a former marine,
from the same class as President Yudhoyono, which helped
smooth the province's relations with the national government.
Both sides were working on infrastructure and road
development. The Ambassador welcomed this positive note and
underscored, in concluding, that Papua was "the one issue"
that continued to worry him.

AREA OF CONCERN: MILITARY PROMOTIONS


10. (C) After the meeting, the Ambassador pulled the Defense
minister aside to register a second concern: the possible
promotion of TNI officers implicated in former human rights
abuses. Ambassador said Washington was following these
promotions closely. Sudarsono said he understood U.S.
concerns and would take the Ambassador's words on board.
HEFFERN