C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001095

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MLS, EAP/MTS (COPE)
NSC FOR E.PHU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/04/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV EAID ID BM
SUBJECT: BURMA -- UPDATE ON INDONESIA AND CYCLONE RELIEF

REF: A. STATE 59122

B. JAKARTA 1055 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: Pol/C Joseph Legend Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d).


1. (U) This message was coordinated with Consulate Medan.


2. (C) SUMMARY: On June 3-4, Mission reviewed Ref A points
regarding access and forced relocations with Indonesian
officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and the
Presidential Secretariat. GOI contacts agreed that the
Burmese regime has failed to meet its humanitarian
obligations and promised to press the regime as possible. An
Indonesian medical team now in Rangoon under ASEAN/UN
auspices has not yet been given an assignment. The U.S.
military is beginning the process of airlifting UNICEF relief
supplies from Indonesia to Burma via Thailand. END SUMMARY.

ENGAGING INDONESIA ON RELIEF


3. (C) Poloff delivered Ref A demarche to Ade Sukendar and
Kusuma Pradopo, Deputy Directors for East Asian and Pacific
Affairs at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DEPLU), on June

4. Poloff noted the Burmese regime's continued restrictions
on international assistance in the Irrawaddy Delta, and
highlighted reports that the regime had forced cyclone
victims to leave shelters and return to their devastated home
areas. The international community, and especially Burma's
ASEAN neighbors, must maintain pressure on the regime re this
vital matter, he stressed. Poloff also briefed DEPLU
interlocutors on U.S. cyclone assistance, including the
withdrawal of the U.S. naval contingent that was stationed
off Burma but was not allowed to assist.


4. (C) DEPLU officials agreed that the Burmese regime was
failing to meet its humanitarian obligations to cyclone
victims. They reported that FM Wirajuda was following the
issue closely and was not satisfied with the regime's
cooperation. Indonesia was deeply concerned about access to
the hardest hit areas. The Indonesian officials promised
that they would continue to press for access, including for
the thirty-person Indonesian medical team now in Rangoon
(operating under the ASEAN/UN mechanism) which arrived the
other day and has not yet been given an assignment (see
below).


5. (C) Pol/C also raised Ref A points with Tri Sukma "Nanu"
Djandam of the Presidential Secretariat on June 3. Djandam
told Pol/C that the GOI was very worried about the Burmese
regime's behavior, but had little leverage. He said the GOI
would continue to press the regime as possible bilaterally
and would continue to work with ASEAN. In a June 4 lunch,
pol counselors from other Missions (Australia, New Zealand,
Japan, the Netherlands, Canada) indicated that their
governments also continue to urge the GOI to press the
regime.

MEDICAL TEAM IN RANGOON


6. (C) DEPLU's Pradopo--who had accompanied the medical team
to Rangoon June 1-3--said the Burmese authorities had been
extremely rude to the visiting Indonesians and had kept the
team waiting at the airport for several hours. Further, the
regime had made no provision to handle or transport the
eleven tons of medical supplies that the Indonesians had
brought. As of June 4, Burmese officials had yet to inform
the Indonesian medical team where it would be allowed to
work. Pradopo promised to keep Mission informed re the
medical team's activities. The Indonesian team is scheduled
to stay in Burma until June 25.


7. (SBU) Pradopo noted that the medical team had traveled to
Rangoon in an Indonesian military (TNI) C-130 aircraft. He

JAKARTA 00001095 002 OF 002


said U.S. maintenance support for these aircraft was critical
to Indonesia's ability to send the relief team to Burma.
(Note: The U.S. has allocated USD 16 million in FMF funds to
support maintainance of Indonesia's C-130 fleet.)

USG RELIEF EFFORTS USING MEDAN


8. (SBU) U.S. military aircraft have begun operations to
transport relief supplies from Medan, North Sumatra, to
Thailand for onward transfer to Burma. The first flight, a
U.S. Marine Corps KC-130 aircraft, arrived in Medan on June 4
to begin preparations for the operation. Beginning on June
6, two KC-130s will fly daily to Medan to transport the
supplies. The supplies consist of 75 large tents that UNICEF
has prepositioned in Medan for use around the Sumatra region
in case of a problem there. TNI Air Force personnel have
provided critical assistance for this operation, including
storage and logistical assistance.

HEFFERN