AMBASSADOR URGES FORMIN WIRAJUDA TO SUPPORT UNSC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 000087 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/10/2017 TAGS: PREL PHUM UNSC ASEAN SY BM ID SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR URGES FORMIN WIRAJUDA TO SUPPORT UNSC RESOLUTION ON BURMA REF: A. STATE 01063 (DEMARCHE: TABLING BURMA RESOLUTION) ¶B. JAKARTA 00032 (DEMARCHE TO INDONESIA ON UNSC BURMA RESOLUTION) Classified By: B. Lynn Pascoe, Ambassador. Reason: 1.4 (b, d) ¶1. (C) Summary. In a January 9 meeting with the Ambassador, Foreign Minister Wirajuda remained non-committal on support for our draft UNSC resolution on Burma. He continued to question whether the Burmese regime poses a significant threat to international peace and security. The GOI, he said, still prefers to address Burma bilaterally and in an ASEAN context. He said ASEAN leaders will press Burma at the upcoming ASEAN summit in Cebu. On another issue, Wirajuda said the visiting Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister had said his government respects the sovereignty and national security of Lebanon. End summary. ¶2. (C) Ambassador met with Foreign Minister Wirajuda on January 9 to urge that Indonesia support our draft Security Council resolution on Burma. He stressed our views (ref A) that the SPDC's policies are having a destabilizing effect on the region. He noted that the resolution was not intended to isolate Burma and did not provide for sanctions. We believe, he said, that the resolution is consistent with the GOI's own approach. ¶3. (C) Wirajuda responded that ASEAN leaders had pressed the Burmese both at last July's Ubud summit and on the margins of APEC, and would do so again the upcoming summit in Cebu. Within ASEAN, he said, only the Philippines agreed with the U.S. approach to the problem. Wirajuda said that the GOI and other ASEAN states did not understand why Burma should become an urgent matter for the Security Council. He said that other members of ASEAN had already made it clear to Burma that they would not defend it against criticism in international fora such as the ILO. Wirajuda noted that in talks with Chinese officials, he had encouraged China to use its leverage with the SPDC. ¶4. (C) Ambassador urged Indonesia to demonstrate leadership on this issue. The GOI should not, he said, use its UNSC seat as a platform for lowest common denominator positions on behalf of ASEAN or any other grouping. Wirajuda conceded the SPDC's actions were contrary to Indonesia's own values, but said that the GOI nevertheless preferred to address the matter within ASEAN counsels. He again expressed skepticism as to whether the Burmese regime posed a serious threat to international peace and security. Ambassador reiterated our view that it did pose such a threat, and said that the timing of the ASEAN summit in Cebu provided Indonesia leverage on Burma. Wirajuda acknowledged that Burma was a serious problem for ASEAN, and that it had exacerbated divisions within the grouping as to whether the proposed ASEAN Charter should include provisions on human rights and democracy. The GOI, he said, was looking for an effective way to engage Burma bilaterally, and was looking forward to the February meeting of th e Indonesia-Burma Bilateral Commission as such an opportunity. Indonesia was worried, he said, about increasing Indian and Chinese influence over Burma. ¶5. (C) Ambassador countered that the UNSC resolution was an opportunity to send a much-needed strong signal to Burma. All previous approaches, including those supported by ASEAN such as the mandate for former UNSYG Special Representative Rizali, had failed. ¶6. (C) Foreign Minister Wirajuda asked for Ambassador's opinion on China's thinking about the issue. Ambassador responded that he could not speak for the Chinese, but they had to be concened about cross-border problems, and pointed out that Burma shared responsibility for the drug problem in southern China. Wirajuda noted that the decision to admit Burma into ASEAN had been driven largely by the desire not to consign the country to the Chinese sphere of influence. Cebu Summit -------------- ¶7. (C) Ambassador asked Wirajuda for a preview of the upcoming Cebu summit. Wirajuda replied that the theme would be "Transforming ASEAN," and that leaders would discuss and endorse the Eminent Persons Group's recommendations for an JAKARTA 00000087 002 OF 002 ASEAN Charter. Leaders would likely also endorse a plan to move forward the target date for completing the ASEAN Community from 2015 to 2010, he said. Beyond this, ministers would approve agreements on migrant workers and other economic and technical matters. The summit would also consult on the agenda for the next East Asia Summit, he said. Indonesia would host an ASEAN meeting on counter-terrorism cooperation in Jakarta on March 5 - 6, Wirajuda said. Visit Of Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister -------------- ¶8. (C) Wirajuda said that Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad, visiting in Jakarta, was saying all the right things on Lebanon and Iraq. Syria supports a national unity government in Palestine, and is pressing both Hamas and Fatah. The Syrians assured the GOI that they respect Lebanon's sovereignty, national security, and the authority of its government. Syria dose not oppose the formation of tribunals, whether under Lebanese or international auspices, to try recent cases of political violence in Lebanon. On UNIFIL, al-Miqdad expressed appreciation for Indonesia's troop contribution and had encouraged the GOI to send more. Syria and the GOI agreed that the question of reducing UNIFIL's numbers was a matter for the UN. On Iraq, Syria and Indonesian agreed on the importance of national reconciliation and creation of a government that could stand above sectarian differences. The GOI is convinced that Syria is seriously concerned about cross-border issues with Iraq, such as movements by insurgents, according to Wirajuda. ¶9. (C) Wirajuda provided an upbeat assessment of the performance of the Indonesian contingent's performance in UNIFIL. He said that the Indonesians were welcomed and trusted by the local populace, who readily offered them useful intelligence. PASCOE