MISSION'S ENGAGEMENT OF INDONESIAN PARLIAMENT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 002195 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP NSC FOR E.PHU E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM ID SUBJECT: MISSION'S ENGAGEMENT OF INDONESIAN PARLIAMENT YIELDS RESULTS REF: A. JAKARTA 00544 ¶B. JAKARTA 02137 JAKARTA 00002195 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Mission has successfully stepped up engagement with the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR). Parliamentary exchanges funded by the House Democracy Assistance Commission (HDAC),USAID, PAS and other sources have been instrumental in encouraging DPR to engage productively with the Mission and U.S. Congress. The DPR sent a Parliamentary Reform team to Washington December 2-5. The DCM hosted a working lunch for the DPR Indonesia-U.S. Caucus which the Ambassador attended. Members committed to exploring ways of strengthening people-to-people contacts and agreed to start meeting with Embassy officials monthly. ¶2. SUMMARY (cont.) Parliamentarians also discussed expanding foreign investment and deepening bilateral relations, in a meeting with Senator Lugar's Senior Staffer, Keith Luse. The DPR also is looking forward to the December opening of the Library of Congress' Global Legal Information Network (GLIN) center in Indonesia. This increased engagement will help promote USG democracy goals as Indonesia approaches 2009 elections. DPR'S PARLIAMENTARY REFORM TEAM VISITS WASHINGTON ¶3. (SBU) Parliamentary exchange and training programs have had tangible results. Senior DPR members told us they were inspired by the success of the House Democracy Assistance Commission (HDAC) and USAID training of staff and members aimed at legislative reform and capacity building. As a result, nine Members of Parliament and two staffers left for Washington for a December 2-5 visit to learn about parliamentary reform from U.S. Congressional Staff. The visit is an encouraging sign that the DPR is proactively reaching out to us, as the team is self-funded and at the initiative of the Speaker of the House, Agung Laksono. ¶4. (SBU) Speaker Laksono (ref B) personally wrote to Speaker Pelosi to request her assistance with the visit. Reform and anti-corruption promise to be key issues in the 2009 legislative and presidential election campaigns. This trip is an indication that the DPR is also taking these seriously. DPR INDONESIA-US CAUCUS WORKING LUNCH WITH DCM 5.(U) DCM hosted a working lunch for DPR members of the US-Indo caucus, attended by the Ambassador. The Ambassador urged the members to actively forge a relationship with the U.S. based on shared U.S.-Indonesian interests. The group took that on board and agreed to start meeting monthly with Embassy officials to expand the relationship. ¶6. (U) Encouraged by the Ambassador's message, members touched on several areas for cooperation during the working lunch. Parliamentarians asked for help creating closer links with their counterpart caucus in the U.S. Congress, headed by Representatives Wexler and Burton. They also wanted to know how to raise awareness in U.S. Congress on issues of interest to Indonesia. ¶7. (SBU) People-to-people exchanges were foremost in their minds. Abdillah Toha, head of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, runs an Islamic publishing company, Mizan. Mizan has published the book, Rainbow Warriors, recently produced as a popular film. His colleague, Ade Nasution, co-chair of the Caucus, has also produced a film, called "Golden Goal." Both parliamentarians were interested in participating in a U.S.-Indonesian film festival and working together to protect intellectual property rights. They were also keen to establish a film museum in Jakarta. MP Cecep Syarifuddin, founder of Galuth University in West Java, wanted to learn JAKARTA 00002195 002.2 OF 002 how to set up exchanges with American professors and speakers. ¶8. (SBU) Golkar Secretary Syamsul Bachri, member of Energy and Environment Commission (Commission VII),expressed an interest in discussing geothermal and other energy-related partnerships. Bachri also noted his interest in the upcoming Embassy-supported Wallacea Conference, which highlights the Indonesian scientific community's international contributions. The conference will be hosted in Makassar, Bachri's district. CONTINUED ENGAGEMENT WITH THE DPR ¶9. (SBU) Members of Parliament met in Jakarta with Senator Lugar's Senior Staffer, Keith Luse. The meeting gave the Indonesian MPs an opportunity to articulate what they want from the bilateral relationship. The four Parliamentarians, Theo Sambuaga of Golkar, Abdillah Toha of National Mandate Party (PAN),Ramson Siagian of Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and Zulkifliemansyah of Prosperous Justice Party (PKS),asked the U.S. to help: -- Develop technological systems which have been successful in the U.S.; -- Strengthen Indonesia's industrial competitiveness; and -- Increase people-to-people exchanges (of journalists, teachers, youth, unions, and military). ¶10. (SBU) They expressed concern about the global financial crisis and said that Indonesian needs increased foreign investment in manufacturing (rather than extracting Indonesia's natural resources) in order to alleviate poverty. They acknowledged, however, that Indonesia needs to be responsible for providing sound infrastructure and a strong legal basis to attract investment. DCM and Luse noted that Indonesia is still giving mixed messages to the foreign investment community. While Indonesia now promotes a more open trade environment, there are still concerns, such as the monopoly on importing U.S. beef. ¶11. (SBU) Luse expressed the U.S. desire for an equal partnership with Indonesia which would be mutually beneficial. He also stressed growing appreciation of Indonesia in the U.S. When asked why the U.S. wants to promote ties with Indonesia, Luse pointed out that the U.S. is engaged for the long-term, not just in terms of security but in education, business and other fields. Most importantly, Indonesia's democracy stabilizes the region and provides a good example for other countries. ¶12. (SBU) Finally, the DPR is eagerly anticipating the mid-December visit of a Library of Congress team to help establish a Global Legal Information Network (GLIN) Center in Jakarta. ¶13. (SBU) Closer relations with Congress and better communication with the Indonesian legislature will enable us to facilitate discussion of key policy issues. It also allows us to support Indonesian efforts to reform and shape their Parliament into an effective and strongly democratic institution. We welcome future Congressional Member and Staff visits to Indonesia. HUME