LIFTING THE TRAVEL WARNING FOR INDONESIA

UNCLAS JAKARTA 000955 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR CA/ACS/OCS/EAP, EAP/MTS, AND DS/DSS DOJ FOR AAG SCHWARTZ FROM CDA HEFFERN TO ACTING A/S JACOBS, A/S HILL, S/CT COORDINATOR DAILEY AND ACTING A/S STARR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: CASC AEMR ASEC PREL AMGT ID SUBJECT: LIFTING THE TRAVEL WARNING FOR INDONESIA ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Ambassador Hume and the Embassy Country Team unanimously believe the time has come to lift the travel warning for Indonesia. Given the government of Indonesia's strong efforts to combat terrorism - and the fact that there has not been a major terrorist incident since October 2005 - we think that the language in the Worldwide Caution adequately describes the security situation in Indonesia. We recommend using the planned June 8-10 visit of Attorney General Michael Mukasey to announce the lifting of the travel warning. We believe there is no single action which would have a more positive impact on our bilateral relations nor which would better position us to seek increased counterterrorism cooperation from Indonesia. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Since Ambassador Hume's arrival last July, we have been carefully evaluating the security situation in Indonesia and reflecting on whether our Embassy assessment of the security risk matches the information we provide the public through our Country Specific Information and travel warning. The Country Team no longer believes that the security situation warrants a separate, country-specific travel warning. According to the State website, travel warnings are issued to describe long-term, protracted conditions that make a country dangerous or unstable. Indonesia today does not meet that standard. ¶3. (SBU) The State Department first issued a travel warning - at this Embassy's recommendation - in November 2000, at a time when Jakarta and Medan had been hit by a series of bombings, "sweeps" for American tourists had taken place in Solo in Central Java, and the Indonesian government had restricted official travel to Aceh, Papua and the Moluccas. The decision to issue a travel warning made sense then. And the maintenance of the warning in the wake of September 11 and the series of terrorist attacks in Bali and Jakarta between 2003 and 2005 was appropriate. ¶4. (SBU) But the security situation in Indonesia is far different today. Given its size and population, there is always the potential for political violence and civil unrest due to ethnic, sectarian, religious and separatist reasons. But there has not been a major terrorist incident since October 2005. The government's impressive counterterrorism efforts have diminished the ability of radical groups to carry out attacks. The police have scored several major successes in breaking up terrorist cells linked to Jemaah Islamiya and other extremist organizations, arresting approximately 400 terrorists and convicting over 250. The Indonesian legal system has successfully prosecuted and punished terrorists. And the Ministry of Law and Human Rights no longer allows automatic sentence remissions for terrorists on major holidays. The security situation is safe enough that the UN and Indonesia hosted the COP-13 Climate Change Conference in Bali in 2007. Over 10,000 delegates took part in the conference, which came off with no incidents. ¶5. (SBU) Of course security risks remain. We have to assume Jemaah Islamiyah networks and cells exist and have the capacity to go operational with little warning. Moreover, Malaysian operative Noordin Mohammed Top remains at large, despite his engagement in nearly every major terrorist attack in Indonesia since 2002. Despite these continuing risks, we believe that the language of the current Worldwide Caution, combined with more detailed information in the Country Specific Information for Indonesia, adequately describes the security situation. The Worldwide Caution states, "The Department of State remains concerned about the continued threat of terrorist attacks, demonstration and other violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests overseas." The Embassy will propose changes to our Country Specific Information and the Overseas Security Advisory Council report by Monday, May 19, to ensure that the security language in all our public documents is consistent and congruent with the threat rating in the Security Environment Threat List. ¶6. (SBU) Lifting the travel warning makes sense on the merits and accurately reflects the reality here. There is no single action which would have a more positive impact on our bilateral relations. Ending the travel warning would give us the opportunity to recognize Indonesia's improved efforts at countering terrorism and give us the credibility to encourage further steps. It would also pave the way for more U.S. trade, investment, cultural and education links; many U.S. businesses and institutions do not allow their executives to travel to countries with travel warnings. And it would allow Indonesia to further develop its substantial tourism potential, providing additional economic security to a country that relies too heavily on commodities. ¶7. (SBU) Embassy Jakarta recommends that the Department agree to end the travel warning for Indonesia before the planned June 8-10 visit to Jakarta by Attorney General Michael Mukasey. We also recommend that the Attorney General make the announcement during his visit, pointing to Indonesia's success at combating terrorism and highlighting our hope that this success will lead to greater U.S. trade and investment and increased numbers of tourists and scholars visiting Indonesia. HEFFERN