PAPUA -- AMBASSADOR HUME'S MEETING WITH GOVERNOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 001624 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/ANP, DRL, DRL/AWH NSC FOR E.PHU E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/27/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM ECON EMIN ID SUBJECT: PAPUA -- AMBASSADOR HUME'S MEETING WITH GOVERNOR SUEBU REF: A. JAKARTA 1562 AND PREVIOUS ¶B. JAKARTA 1522 JAKARTA 00001624 001.2 OF 003 Classified By: Ambassador Cameron R. Hume, reasons 1.4(b+d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: In an August 22 meeting in Jakarta, Ambassador Hume reviewed key priorities with Papua Governor Barnabas Suebu. Suebu said implementation of Papua's Special Autonomy was lagging because Jakarta was reluctant to give up power. He expressed satisfaction with the investigation into an alleged police shooting that had left one Papuan protester dead but said the GOI must allow Papuans more freedom to express political views. The governor welcomed Congressional interest in Papua and looked forward to future Congressional visits to the province. END SUMMARY. MEETING WITH PAPUA GOVERNOR ¶2. (C) On August 22, Ambassador Hume met in Jakarta with Barnabas Suebu, the Governor of Papua province in eastern Indonesia. Following a discussion of key political issues (reported below),Dr. Fafsiah Mboi, Secretary of the National AIDS Commission and Constant Karma, Secretary of the Papua Provincial AIDS Commission joined the Ambassador and the Governor for a discussion of HIV/AIDS. Mission will report this discussion septel. SPECIAL AUTONOMY ¶3. (C) Ambassador Hume said the implementation of Papua's Special Autonomy Law was critical in addressing the province's key challenges. Suebu replied that implementation of Special Autonomy was not proceeding properly. Many central government agencies had refused to cede authority to the provincial government, as called for in the law. The Ministry of Forestry was particularly difficult in this regard. Suebu said he would continue to press President Yudhoyono to push Special Autonomy forward. ¶4. (C) Suebu also cited the provincial government's declining budget as evidence of Jakarta's retrenchment on Special Autonomy. The provincial government had seen its infrastructure budget cut by nearly 70 percent in the past year. This had occurred despite language in the Special Autonomy Law stipulating that the provincial government receive a greater share of wealth generated by Papua's natural resources. ¶5. (C) Ambassador Hume suggested that Papua explore the possibility of putting some of its resource revenue into a trust fund. This would insulate the provincial government's revenue stream from the fluctuations of global commodity prices, thereby facilitating development planning. (Note: The majority of Papua's revenue comes from the export of commodities, chiefly copper, gold and forest products.) ¶6. (C) Suebu agreed that a trust fund made sense and said the provincial government was exploring ways to place some of its revenue in long-term income-producing investments. In pursuit of this goal, the provincial government had launched negotiations to buy shares of the U.S. based Freeport-McMoRan mining company. (Note: Freeport-McMoRan operates the massive Grasberg mine near Timika in central Papua. The mine is the world's largest producer of gold and second largest producer of copper.) The provincial government was still negotiating with Freeport but hoped to invest as much as 2 billion USD in the company. ¶7. (C) Suebu acknowledged that some of the problems implementing Special Autonomy rested on the Papuan side. He conceded that the provincial government still lacked the human and institutional capacity to take on the responsibilities assigned to it under Special Autonomy. JAKARTA 00001624 002.2 OF 003 Corruption also hampered the provincial government's performance. Suebu said he was committed to making the provincial bureaucracy "clean and capable" but admitted there was still a long way to go. WAMENA SHOOTING ¶8. (C) Ambassador Hume said the USG was concerned about the fatal August 9 shooting of a Papuan in Wamena, in Papua's central highlands. (Note: The investigation continues, but, based on what we understand, police shot and killed one Papuan following the raising of the banned separatist-linked Morning Star flag during a peaceful rally to mark UN Indigenous People's day. Ref A.) It was essential that police in Indonesia be trained and equipped to handle crowds so that use of lethal force occurred only when necessary. ¶9. (C) Suebu said he was concerned about the incident. He told the provincial police chief (Kapolda) that deadly force should not be used against peaceful protesters. Any member of the security forces who might have used deadly force inappropriately must be brought to justice. Suebu said he had met several times with the Kapolda and the regional military commander, both of whom had assured him that the investigation would be conducted impartially. The Governor said he was satisfied with security officials' handling of the investigation, so far. (Note: Other sources claimed the demonstration was extremely unruly and not entirely peaceful.) ¶10. (C) Turning to the underlying issue--Papuan freedom of expression--Suebu voiced some concerns. He said many Indonesian officials remained reluctant to allow Papuans to express their aspirations and hopes. They must come to understand that such expressions were not a threat to Indonesian territorial integrity and must be tolerated now that Indonesia is a democracy. CONGRESSIONAL INTEREST ¶11. (C) The Ambassador said the U.S. Congress remained keenly interested in developments in Papua. The recent Congressional letter on two Papuan prisoners was one demonstration of Congressional concern. (Note: The July 29, 2008, letter signed by 40 Members of Congress called for the release of Papuan activists Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage. The two were imprisoned in May 2005 for their participation in a December 2004 protest that raised the Morning Star flag. Many Indonesian officials have criticized the letter as interference in the country's domestic affairs. Ref B.) ¶12. (C) Suebu said he understood the letter was an expression of concern re Papua, not a desire to interfere in Indonesia's internal affairs. He had already discussed the letter with key Cabinet officials and would discuss it with President Yudhoyono on Monday, August 25. Suebu said he would advise the President that the best response to the letter would be to take concrete steps to improve the lives of the Papuan people. Such steps included moving forward with economic development priorities and ensuring that Papuans' human rights were protected. ¶13. (C) Ambassador Hume noted that Congressman Eni Faleomavaega (D-American Samoa) remained interested in Papua and planned to visit the province, perhaps in November. He hoped to visit Biak, Manokwari and Jayapura. It was critical that the GOI work with the USG to ensure that his visit was successful, the Ambassador stressed. ¶14. (C) Regarding Rep Faleomavaega's possible travel, Suebu said he would work closely with the USG to ensure a successful trip. He acknowledged that some central government officials had been wary of Faleomavaega's visit in November 2007. As a result, Faleomavaega had not been JAKARTA 00001624 003.2 OF 003 allowed to visit Jayapura and his visit to Manokwari had been very restricted. Suebu said he would work to ensure that a future trip accommodated Faleomavaega's requests as much as possible. HUME