BALI DEMOCRACY FORUM: MORE DETAILS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 002170 SIPDIS DEPT. FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, DRL/FO FOR CCAMPONOVO, S/P, DRL; G NSC FOR EPHU, PLETTOW E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/25/2018 TAGS: PREL KDEM ID MG SUBJECT: BALI DEMOCRACY FORUM: MORE DETAILS REF: A. JAKARTA 2072 ¶B. JAKARTA 1970 Classified By: DepPol/C Stanley Harsha, reasons 1.4 (b+d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. Indonesia's Bali Democracy Forum will be attended by approximately 28 participants from Asia and the Middle East, including four heads of state, plus several observers from Europe and the Americas. Burma is sending a deputy minister. Iran and North Korea are not attending. Invitations for observer countries to attend the December 10-11 event, including to the U.S., will be sent out at the end of this week. The GOI hopes that the U.S. can send a senior official to observe. Separately, a senior Indonesian diplomat told us she very much appreciated attending the Asia-Pacific Democracy Forum (APDP) held in Seoul, October ¶31. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) Indonesia will host the Bali Democracy Forum (BDF) December 10-11 at a beach resort, on the theme of "Building and Consolidating Democracy: A Strategic Agenda for Asia." Indonesian President Bambang Susilo Yudhoyono and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will co-chair the Forum. Approximately 28 countries in East Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East have confirmed participation, according to Umar Hadi, Director for Public Diplomacy at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DEPLU). Some nine other countries in Europe and the Americas are sending representatives. Hadi said the other heads of state or heads of government attending include: Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, Timor-Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, and the Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah. Other participating countries are sending ministers or deputy ministers. The event is a ministerial and the heads of state will not stay for the entire Forum, Hadi said. ¶3. (C) Confirmed participants will include all the ASEAN countries plus Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, China, Japan, South Korea, Burma, Timor-Leste, Australia and New Zealand, Hadi told DepPol/C. Some of the countries invited but not attending include North Korea, Iran and Syria. Burma will send a deputy foreign minister. ¶4. (C) Countries which have said they would send observers include: Norway, Canada, Switzerland, Austria and Sweden, as well possibly Chile, Brazil and Tunisia. We have told Hadi that the U.S. would send an observer either from the Embassy or Washington. Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda plans to write a letter to Secretary Rice inviting her or another senior official, according to Hadi. Observers will not speak at the Forum but are welcome to make remarks during break-out sessions. The heads of state and government will make speeches at the opening. JAKARTA 00002170 002 OF 002 THEMES ON RULE OF LAW, GOOD GOVERNANCE ¶5. (SBU) The Forum will discuss the following themes: Consolidating Democratic Institutions and Processes, to be chaired by Prime Minister Rudd; and Democracy and Development, Development of Democracy: Priority Areas for Sharing of Experience and Best Practices. The latter will have break out sections on such topics as electoral processes, rule of law and the judiciary, good governance and women in democracy, among other topics. ¶6. (C) Hadi said the GOI hopes that observer countries will help support the BDF's on-going activities to be carried out through the Institute for Peace and Democracy at Bali's University of Udayana. The Institute will organize workshops, conduct research, publish papers and set up networks among experts. The GOI wants contributions to the Institute's endowment fund as well as experts to teach courses. The GOI has budgeted funds for the first year's activities, Hadi added. APDP INVITATION APPRECIATED ¶7. (C) Ambassador Artauli Tobing, Director General for Policy Planning and Development at DEPLU, told DepPol/C that she was very pleased to have attended the Asia-Pacific Democracy Partnership (APDP) meeting in Seoul on October 31. She agreed that the APDP and BDF complement each other and reiterated that the GOI would appreciate the U.S. sending a senior official to observe BDF's first meeting in Bali. She said Indonesia has not yet decided on whether to join the APDP. ¶8. (C) If Washington cannot send an observer to the BDF, Mission will represent the USG. HUME