INDONESIA RESPONDS TO PAKISTAN'S MIDDLE EAST PEACE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 000725 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/08/2012 TAGS: PREL PTER KISL ID SUBJECT: INDONESIA RESPONDS TO PAKISTAN'S MIDDLE EAST PEACE PLAN WITH ONE OF ITS OWN REF: ISLAMABAD 895 Classified By: CDA John A. Heffern, Reasons 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (C) EAP DAS Eric John inquired about Pakistani President Musharraf's Middle East peace initiative during his meeting with Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DEPLU) Director General Imron Cotan. According to Cotan, Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda attended the meeting as part of Indonesia's effort to find alternatives to the current situation in the Middle East. Cotan did not provide any specifics on Musharraf's initiative, but instead commented on Indonesia's own plan to help resolve Middle East conflicts. ¶2. (C) Cotan told DAS John that Indonesia will be hosting a "track two" style meeting of non-governmental officials from Muslim countries at the end of March. (Note. Subsequent press reports said that the conference dates will be April 2-3. End note.) He said that DEPLU had directed Hasyim Muzadi, chairman of Indonesia's largest mass Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU),to organize the conference, which would bring together Sunni and Shi'a religious leaders. According to Cotan, Middle Eastern governments are not in full control of the grassroots in their countries, and as a result, there is now a problem of "warlords." ¶3. (C) The Government of Indonesia (GOI) believes that Middle Eastern conflicts spill over to Indonesia in the form of terrorism, Cotan said. This conference, then, would be an attempt to persuade non-governmental actors to renounce violence and create a climate that is more conducive to negotiations. DAS John replied that the Secretary is interested in following up on GOI plans in the region, and would like to discuss this at some point with FM Wirajuda. ¶4. (C) Separately, a representative from NU's rival organization, Muhammadiyah (which is assisting with the conference),provided us with a list of the individuals whom Muzadi has reportedly invited to the Sunni-Shi'a conference: Egypt: Dr. Salim Al-Awah, Al-Ahzar University Iran: Ayatollah Muhammad Ali Taskhiri; Shaykh Muhammad Mahdi Taskhiri; Mullah Muhammad Ishaq Madani; Shaykh Iraqi; Shaykh Jawwad Marwa Iraq: Sadr al-Din Qubanji (Imam, Najaf Mosque); Sayyid Ammar Hakim Lebanon: Ulama Sayyid Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah; Sayyid Ali Fadlallah; Shaykh Ja afar Muhajir; Dr. Famy Haddidi Syria: Abdallah Nitham; Dr. Nabil Halabaraq Qatar: Sayyid Shakir Al-Yusuf Kuwait: Shaykh Hassan Jarraf (possibly Jazzaf) Turkey: Salah al-Din Awz Gunduz Indonesia: Jalaluddin Rakhmat (Note. Rahmat is an Indonesian intellectual who is generally regarded as a moderate. He has JAKARTA 00000725 002 OF 002 written extensively about Islam and pluralism. End note.) Afghanistan: Muhammad Asif Mohsini; Sayyid Murtadhawi Pakistan: Sayyid Sajid Naqvi Yemen: Ashami Bahrain: Sayyid Abdallah Arifi; Shaykh Aissa Qasim Tunisia: Rashid Al-Ghannouchi Saudi Arabia: Shaykh Hassan Saffar; Hadi Fadhli Azerbaijan: Allah Shukur Pashazadeh US: Seyyed Hossein Nasr (George Washington University) India: Sayyid Kalbe Sadiq; Sayyid Kalbe Jawwad Naqvi ¶5. (U) This message has been cleared with DAS John. HEFFERN