LABOR/HUMAN RIGHTS CONTACTS ALLEGE HARASSMENT,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001655 SIPDIS DEPT. FOR DRL/IL (M.MITTELHAUSER),EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, DRL, DRL/AWH, NSC FOR E.PHU DEPT OF LABOR FOR B.SASSER E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/27/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL ELAB PHUM ID SUBJECT: LABOR/HUMAN RIGHTS CONTACTS ALLEGE HARASSMENT, POSSIBLY BY GOI AGENCIES REF: A. JAKARTA 1594 ¶B. 07 JAKARTA 2431 Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: A prominent Indonesian freelance writer--and former fellow at Harvard--told Labatt that he believes that he has been under surveillance by GOI intelligence agencies. He says this could be because of his investigative reporting on human rights issues. He asked that the USG keep the matter confidential at this time in order not to draw more attention to him. Labor union contacts also briefed Labatt about what they alleged was surveillance and harassment by intelligence agents. ¶2. (C) SUMMARY (Con'd): If accurate, these cases are possibly related to heightened GOI sensitivity in the run-up to the 2009 national elections. Mission checked with other contacts who are not reporting similar issues. We will continue to monitor the situation. END SUMMARY. ALLEGING HARASSMENT ¶3. (C) Mission has recently heard some allegations of harassment, possibly involving official agencies. Andreas Harsono, a leading figure in the Suharto-era free press and democracy movement, briefed Labatt on August 26 about what he considers to be scrutiny he has received from Indonesian intelligence services. He speculated that the suspected surveillance is linked to one of two issues: -- investigative reports he co-authored with American academic S. Eben Kirksey (please strictly protect) alleging Indonesian military (TNI) involvement in the 2002 murder of two Americans and one Indonesian in Timika, Papua; or, -- articles he wrote about the 2004 murder of human rights activist Munir Thalib. (Note: A joint Indonesian Police-FBI investigation into the Timika shooting found several members of an illegal Papuan separatist group responsible for the attack. An Indonesian court convicted them in November 2006. The convicted killer of Munir is now in jail. A high-level intelligence official has been charged with conspiracy in the slaying--see reftel.) ¶4. (C) Harsono claimed that a "student" who attended his writing class for a time in January was an Indonesian National Intelligence (BIN) officer, based on checking this student's name and description with NGO sources. A scholar Harsono knows in Papua said he has heard that security agents are interested in him (Harsono),Harsono related. Most recently, he received two anonymous phone calls "politely" complaining about his articles on the Timika murders, beginning August 17 (the day that an update of his report was published by the British publication, "South East Asia Research"). (Note: Mission has responded to questions about the Harsono/Kirksey report with interagency cleared guidance that affirms our view that justice was done in this case.) ¶5. (C) Harsono, a former Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, said his suspicions are based on a "gut feeling." He became further alarmed when Munir's widow, Suciwati, warned him to be careful. Harsono had sent a message to a U.S. human rights organization expressing his concern, which DRL conveyed to Labatt. Harsono told Labatt that neither the Mission nor DRL should take any action that would call attention to him, and that any messages we might convey to the GOI on his behalf would not be helpful. He said he does not really believe he is in danger but is a little spooked. We promised to meet regularly to monitor the situation. JAKARTA 00001655 002 OF 002 Harsono added that he would travel to Papua in October to investigate the human rights situation there. REPORTS FROM LABOR UNIONS ¶6. (C) Separately, Labatt met with Jamie Davis (Amcit--strictly protect),the country director of the American Center for International Labor Solidarity (ACILS--the international representative of the AFL-CIO) to discuss allegations of recent harassment of ACILS-organized labor union activities by security intelligence agents. The agents clearly identified themselves to labor leaders when they intruded on their activities, Davis remarked. ¶7. (C) Davis related that four plain clothes police officers monitored an August 23-24 legal aid workshop held in Surabaya, East Java, hanging around outside the meeting room, inviting themselves to meals. They also asked for a list of participants, which the organizers refused to provide. ¶8. (C) The previous week, plain clothed police officers apparently monitored two days of an ACILS gender workshop in Bandung, West Sumatra, but were not disruptive. Finally, a military intelligence officer showed up at an ACILS legal aid workshop in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, on August 23-24 inquiring about the purpose of the event, Davis asserted. Davis did not ask that we take any action in these cases but wanted to make sure we are informed since what he characterized as "such blatant intrusion" has not occurred for several years. HEIGHTENED SENSITIVITIES IN RUN-UP TO ELECTIONS? ¶9. (C) One possible explanation for all this is that elements of the GOI might be more sensitive to NGO and human rights-related activities in the run-up to the 2009 national elections. That said, Labatt checked with several international NGOs working in the field of democracy and governance. They had not noticed any unusual interest by the GOI, however. While we will respect the wishes of Harsono and ACILS not to call attention to their specific cases, we will continue to monitor the situation. Such surveillance was common under former president Suharto, but has decreased markedly over the years. HUME