DEMARCHE RESPONSE ON SATELINDO BROADCASTING OF AL-MANAR TV

C O N F I D E N T I A L JAKARTA 000922 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/PD, EEB/CIP/TS, EEB/ESC/TFS, EAP/RPS, S/CT E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/09/2018 TAGS: PTER PREL KPAO ECIP KTFN ID LE XC SUBJECT: DEMARCHE RESPONSE ON SATELINDO BROADCASTING OF AL-MANAR TV REF: STATE 44312 Classified By: Economic Officer Yvonne Gonzales for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Based on initial meetings with Government of Indonesia officials, it appears there are three possible routes for ending the broadcast of al-Manar television in Indonesia: 1) a formal U.S. complaint to the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (IBC) and the Department of Foreign Affairs based on violations of Indonesian law and possible damage to our bilateral relations, 2) a regulatory solution as al-Manar may not have the required permit to broadcast in Indonesia and 3) an independent decision by Indosat to avoid reputational risk by ending broadcasts of al-Manar. The Embassy has met with Ministry of Communication and Information Acting Director General for Information and Communication Facilities Freddy Tulung, Deputy Minister of State Owned Enterprises and Indosat Commissioner Roes Aryawijaya, Foreign Ministry Deputy Director of Information and Media Services Sam Marentek, Singapore Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Lim Hong Huai and Telkom Executive Vice President David Burke. We have requested additional meetings with the head of the Indonesian Broadcast Commission, the president director of Indosat and an independent commissioner of Indosat. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) FORMAL COMPLAINT TO THE IBC OR GOVERNMENT OF INDONESIA: Under Law Number 32 of 2002 on Broadcasting, regulation of broadcast content is the responsibility of the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (IBC) which is charged with receiving complaints and regulating content based on the broadcasting code of conduct. The code of conduct prohibits broadcast content containing incitement or violence and is "prohibited to mock, degrade, insult religious elements, or the dignity of Indonesia or break off international relations." Tulung said there have been no formal complaints about al-Manar to date. Tulung referenced a case that involved a pro-Falun Gong radio broadcast. In April 2007 the Chinese Embassy made a formal complaint to both the IBC and the Indonesian government, asking the IBC to monitor Radio Era Baru for programs that could disrupt Chinese-Indonesian relations as per Law Number 32. The IBC did monitor the station´s broadcasts and the station continues to operate while still contesting GOI and foreign interference. Tulung said the Government of Indonesia would not interfere in broadcasting content unless there was a negative impact on communal or bilateral relationships. He said a formal complaint from the U.S. would trigger a review of the broadcast content by the IBC. ¶3. (C) AL-MANAR MAY NOT HAVE AUTHORIZATION TO BROADCAST: Marentek told us Indonesian law requires foreign broadcast permits be approved by the Foreign Ministry, Ministry of Communication and Information and IBC prior to initial transmission. According to Marentek, the Foreign Ministry has not received an application for broadcasting al-Manar television. Therefore, he asserted that Indosat likely did not have proper authorization to broadcast al-Manar. Marentek promised to investigate the matter further. ¶4. (C) WARN INDOSAT OF REPUTATIONAL RISK: Anjawijaya said he would raise the al-Manar issue with Indosat´s president director and with Temasek´s wholly-owned subsidiary Singapore Technologies Telemedia (STT),which at 40.81% is indirectly the largest single shareholder in Indosat. Anjawijaya recommended we approach Indosat´s president director and independent Commissioner Soeprapto, former assistant personnel to the Army Chief of Staff from 2000-1. Anjawijaya hinted that Soeprapto would likely be sympathetic to arguments that al-Manar broadcasts have a potentially negative impact on Indonesia,s domestic security. Indosat will hold a general stockholders meeting on June 5 where the issue of al-Manar broadcasts could be raised. ¶5. (C) Huai told us Temasek appoints some of Indosat´s board members, but is not involved in direct management control of Indosat. He described it as a "purely investor relationship". However, Anjawijaya said Temasek is able to influence Indosat through STT. Huai said he would convey our message to Temasek. He expressed concern Temasek could be penalized for providing material assistance to al-Manar and he asked whether any owner of a broadcast host for a U.S. designated terrorist organization had been penalized. ¶6. (C) TELKOM HAS NO RELATIONSHIP WITH AL-MANAR: Burke told us Telkom does not own the Palapa C-2 satellite from which al-Manar is broadcast. According to documentation Burke provided, the Palapa C-2 satellite is owned by Indosat. He said al-Manar approached Telkom in September or October 2007, but Telkom decided not to do business with al-Manar and Burke did not know the reason for this. ¶7. (C) NEXT STEPS: Embassy will continue to meet with stakeholders, including representatives of Indosat and IBC, to end the broadcast of al-Manar television in Indonesia. HUME