UN PEACEKEEPING -- GOI AGREES TO SEND MORE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 000593

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, DRL, IO, NEA
SECDEF FOR USDP/ISA/AP - P. IPSEN
JOINT STAFF FOR CLEMMONS
NSC FOR E. PHU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/25/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL KPKO ID LE SU
SUBJECT: UN PEACEKEEPING -- GOI AGREES TO SEND MORE
PERSONNEL TO LEBANON

REF: A. JAKARTA 0146

B. 07 JAKARTA 3267

C. 07 JAKARRTA 2798

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


1. (C) SUMMARY: The GOI has agreed to send 90 additional
military personnel to Lebanon to augment the 850 personnel
already serving there as UN peacekeepers. The decision is in
response to requests by the Lebanese government and the
UNIFIL command in Lebanon. Re another planned deployment,
there have been some problems with the Sudanese government
regarding visa issuance, but the GOI hopes that the first
tranche of police to support UNAMID can arrive in Darfur in
early April. The planned deployment to Lebanon underscores
Indonesia's continued commitment to international
peacekeeping. END SUMMARY.

SENDING MORE TROOPS


2. (C) The GOI has committed itself to sending more
peacekeepers to Lebanon. Indonesian government contacts
confirm that--during the recent OIC Summit in Dakar--Lebanese
representatives asked Indonesian President Yudhoyono to send
additional personnel to augment the 850 Indonesian military
personnel already serving in Lebanon under the command of the
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Yudhoyono
agreed and ordered the Army Chief of Staff to begin
preparations for the additional deployment.


3. (U) (Note: The GOI approved the deployment of
peacekeepers to Lebanon shortly after the cease-fire was
greed to in 2006. The GOI has provided peacekeepers to
UNIFIL since late 2006. The current force arrived in
November 2007 and will serve a one-year tour of duty before
it rotates out and is replaced--as is expected--by another
Indonesian contingent.)

WORKING OUT THE DETAILS


4. (C) Indonesia is working on the details of the planned
deployment. Poloff spoke with Fikry Cassidy, Deputy Director
of International Security and Disarmament at the Department
of Foreign Affairs (DEPLU),on March 24. Cassidy confirmed
that the GOI is in touch with the UN Peacekeeping Operations
(PKO) command in New York. The 90 additional Indonesian
military personnel would replace a group of Qatari
peacekeepers who recently departed Lebanon. According to
Cassidy, the 90 military police will be deployed throughout
Lebanon and will perform basic police duties, including
checkpoint and traffic control, and other duties. The
Indonesian military police will not necessarily be stationed
with the main Indonesian UNIFIL troops but will augment UN
forces where needed, he added.

TRYING TO GET TO DARFUR


5. (C) The GOI is also preparing to send about 150 civilian
police officers to the Darfur region of Sudan to assist with
UN peacekeeping operations (UNAMID) there (ref A). GOI
contacts report that everything seems to be in place, but
there have been some problems regarding visa issuance by the
Sudanese government. The GOI hopes that these problems are
ironed out soon so that the first tranche of police can
depart for Darfur in early April.

A STRONG COMMITMENT


6. (SBU) The planned deployment to Lebanon underscores the
GOI's continued commitment to international peacekeeping.

JAKARTA 00000593 002 OF 002


Indonesia likes to be seen as a good world citizen and
peacekeeping is a concrete way to express that. Based on
what we have heard, Indonesian forces in Lebanon have been
effective in their mission, earning positive reviews from the
government and citizens alike.

HUME