Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08JAKARTA1443
2008-07-28 09:26:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Jakarta
Cable title:  

ASEAN CHARTER -- INDONESIAN DEBATE HEATING UP

Tags:  PREL PGOV ID BM SN 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001443 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MLS, EAP/MTS, EAP/RSP
NSC FOR E.PHU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/28/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV ID BM SN
SUBJECT: ASEAN CHARTER -- INDONESIAN DEBATE HEATING UP

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

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001443

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MLS, EAP/MTS, EAP/RSP
NSC FOR E.PHU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/28/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV ID BM SN
SUBJECT: ASEAN CHARTER -- INDONESIAN DEBATE HEATING UP

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


1. (C) SUMMARY: The GOI will soon submit the ASEAN Charter
to the Indonesian national legislature for ratification. The
government vows to press for approval, but many legislators
have questioned whether Indonesia should endorse the
document. They point to the Charter's relatively weak
provisions on democracy and human rights, asserting that the
Charter will do nothing to change the situation in Burma.
Debate regarding the Charter is likely to intensify in the
coming months. END SUMMARY.

CHARTER DEBATE ENTERS FINAL PHASE


2. (C) The Indonesian Government plans to press ahead with
ratification of the ASEAN Charter before the December Bangkok
Summit. (Note: December 2009--roughly one year after
leaders' signed the document in Singapore--is ASEAN's
self-imposed deadline for member-states to endorse the
document.) The GOI will formally submit the Charter to the
House of Representatives (DPR) when the latter returns from
recess in mid-August. Foreign Minister Wirajuda has met
informally with key DPR members to press for ratification.
The DPR's Commission I, responsible for foreign affairs and
defense, has already held a number of hearings to solicit
public views. Academics, NGO leaders and foreign policy
experts have all testified, and many have raised serious
concerns about the Charter, as reviewed below.

OPPONENTS HAVE QUESTIONS


3. (C) Opponents continue to question whether Indonesia
should ratify the Charter in its current form. Key DPR
members and foreign affairs commentators, the latter
especially centered around the Center for Strategic and
International Studies, a key think-tank, have voiced
criticism of the Charter. Their objections center on three
key issues:

-- (1) The Charter is not sufficiently democratic. While it
purports to turn ASEAN into a "people-driven" organization,
the Charter remains an "elite-driven" document.

-- (2) The Charter's provisions calling for democracy and
human rights are too week to bring about change in ASEAN's
most problematic members, especially Burma.


-- (3) The Charter contains no mechanism to monitor and
enforce any of its provisions, especially those regarding
democracy and human rights.

These critics say that Indonesia, as ASEAN's largest
democracy, has a special obligation to promote its
democratic/human rights values in the organization.


4. (C) Political parties have begun to stake out positions
on the charter. Golkar, which backs President Yudhoyono and
is the largest party in the DPR, has endorsed ratification.
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P),the
leading opposition party and second-largest in the DPR, has
rejected the Charter. The DPR's many other
parties--including those which are Islamic-oriented--continue
to debate the issue.


5. (C) Indonesian critics have also pointed to the ongoing
Preah Vihear dispute between Cambodia and Thailand as a
critical test for ASEAN. If the organization cannot resolve
this issue quickly, skepticism about ASEAN integration is
likely to grow.


6. (C) In the meantime, Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong's
recent comments chiding ASEAN members who have not ratified
the Charter seemed to harden opposition views here. (Note:
The Indonesian press gave prominent coverage to PM Lee's
statement that ASEAN integration should not be held up by a

JAKARTA 00001443 002 OF 002


few members who "had problems" ratifying the Charter.)


7. (C) Indonesian legislators--who are allergic to criticism
in any form from the Singaporean side--reacted sharply to the
Singapore PM's comments. Djoko Susilo, a key DPR leader on
Burma issues, said Indonesian lawmakers were "offended" by
Lee's comments. He vowed that the DPR would not bow to
Singaporean pressure. Fellow legislator Abdillah Toha echoed
Susilo's comments. He said that the DPR was a "real
parliament," unlike its counterpart in Singapore that did
whatever the government told them to do. Susilo told poloff
that the PM Lee's comments had caught the attention of DPR
members who previously did not pay much attention to the
issue. When asked why, he responded: "he (Lee) insulted our
democracy." (Note: The DPR has held up ratifying a defense
cooperation agreement with Singapore largely--it would
seem--out of flat-out distrust of the country.)

CLASHING VIEWS


8. (C) The Charter debate exposes two different ways that
Indonesians think about ASEAN. Department of Foreign Affairs
(DEPLU) officials stress ASEAN's role promoting peace and
security in Southeast Asia. They also emphasize the economic
potential of ASEAN becoming a single integrated market.
However, they remain cautious about ASEAN dealing with
domestic issues like human rights or member-states' political
systems. Critics acknowledge these points, but argue that
Indonesia's domestic values of democracy and respect for
human rights must motivate the country's foreign policy.


9. (C) These differences have led to some sharp exchanges.
At a recent panel discussion attended by poloff, leading CSIS
scholar Rizal Sukma challenged DEPLU's number-two official
Secretary General Imron Cotan on the Charter's democracy
provisions. Sukma asked how Indonesia, as a democracy, could
Indonesia support a Charter that did not embody the country's
own values? Cotan acknowledged the importance of democracy
in Indonesia, but said that it had no obligation to "export"
democracy to its ASEAN neighbors.


10. (C) The debate also reveals differences between
legislators and the executive branch. DEPLU officials have
told us that Indonesia must ratify the Charter because
President Yudhoyono and other senior leaders have promised
their ASEAN counterparts that Indonesia will do so. For
them, the issue is primarily one of meeting an international
commitment. While not unmindful of the international
dimension, DPR members are looking closer to home. Susilo
told poloff that he hears regularly from democracy and human
rights NGOs on the issue. They urge the DPR to take a firm
line on the charter. "I have to represent them," he told
poloff.

UPCOMING TIMEFRAME IS KEY


11. (C) The next three months will be critical. The DPR
will again go into recess in Q-November. Legislators must
ratify the charter before then in order to meet ASEAN's
deadline. Indonesia's 2009 elections may also have an
effect. As DPR members increasingly focus on their own
reelection, they are likely to devote less time to getting
through their legislative agenda. As flagged above, the
Charter review could become a bit of a donnybrook between
Indonesia's parliament--which is increasingly taking an
assertive role--versus the Executive Branch. Most observers
believe the GOI will eventually win this one, but that it
will be a tough slog.

HUME