BURMA -- INDONESIA WELCOMES NEW U.S. APPROACH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001628 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP NSC FOR AMBASSADOR BADER AND D.WALTON E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/29/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM ID BM SUBJECT: BURMA -- INDONESIA WELCOMES NEW U.S. APPROACH REF: STATE 100518 Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The GOI has welcomed the new U.S. approach on Burma. Speaking in New York, Foreign Minister Wirajuda publicly praised the USG's decision to begin a direct dialogue with the Burmese authorities, and called on Burma to respond with positive steps regarding Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners. When briefed, Department of Foreign Affairs officials promised to consult closely with us as the U.S. moves forward. Key Indonesian legislators also praised the new U.S. approach, as did officials at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta. The USG approach moves our policy closer in line with Indonesia's, providing an opportunity to leverage the GOI's Bali Democracy Forum on ways to engage Burma. END SUMMARY. EXPLAINING OUR NEW APPROACH ¶2. (SBU) Mission has engaged key GOI contacts regarding the United States' new approach toward Burma. Pol/C discussed the matter with a leading foreign affairs adviser at the Presidential Palace and with a parliamentary leaders on Burma issues. Poloff also briefed officials in Foreign Minister Wirajuda's office and in the directorates of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, ASEAN Cooperation and North American Affairs at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DEPLU). Poloff also discussed Burma policy with officials at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta. In addition to reftel non-paper we provided our interlocutors with the text of A/S Campbell's September 28 briefing. ¶3. (SBU) Mission officers explained that the United States will begin a direct dialogue with the Burmese authorities aimed at ending the country's international isolation. Our goal is a unified, peaceful, prosperous and democratic Burma that protects its citizens' human rights. We noted that the USG would maintain existing sanctions until there was concrete progress toward reform and that we would continue to press for the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi (ASSK). We underscored the United States' continued commitment to helping meet the humanitarian needs of the Burmese people. GOI WELCOMES U.S. ANNOUNCEMENT ¶4. (C) GOI officials uniformly welcomed this new approach. While in New York at the UN General Assembly, Foreign Minister Wirajuda publicly welcomed the U.S. decision to engage the Burmese government. He also called on Burmese officials to respond to the U.S. initiative with key steps, including via the release of ASSK. Wirajuda also reportedly praised the new U.S. approach held during a meeting of ASEAN Foreign Ministers on the margins of the UN General Assembly, according to officials in his office. ¶5. (C) In our discussions, Indonesian officials also praised the comprehensive nature of the new U.S. approach. They particularly noted the importance of Burmese national reconciliation and lauded the U.S. commitment to Burma's national unity, according to George Lantu, DEPLU's Deputy Director for ASEAN Legal and Human Rights. Indonesia believed that Burma's problems should be dealt with through this sort of holistic approach. Lantu and other DEPLU officials said they would consult closely with us on Burma issues as the United States moved forward with this new approach. ¶6. (C) Mission has also touched base with Indonesian parliamentarians re the policy shift. Djoko Susilo, an M.P. and campaigner against the Burmese regime, told Pol/C that he supported the USG approach. He said such an approach was "far preferable to a policy of just saying 'no' to any sort of engagement with the regime." Susilo cautioned, however, that "change in Burma will take time and it will take hard work and patience, and we cannot grow disheartened if one thing does not work." Theo Sambuaga, another key M.P., told Pol/C that he also strongly supported the U.S. approach. ASEAN OFFICIALS REACT POSITIVELY ¶7. (C) ASEAN also welcomed the new U.S. policy, according to Termsak Chalermpalanupap, Special Advisor to Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan. Termsak told poloff that officials at the ASEAN Secretariat were please with the United States' commitment to cooperation and coordination with the regional organization. They looked forward to additional JAKARTA 00001628 002 OF 002 consultations with the USG on the matter. NEED TO CONTINUE TO ENGAGE INDONESIA ¶8. (C) The new USG approach puts our policy more in line with that of Indonesia's, which also supports engagement and the idea of (at least a modicum of) pressure on the regime. Indonesia, due to the authoritarian system that came before democracy here, sees itself as well-placed to deal with the military-run Myanmar regime and point it toward change. As we move forward and develop the U.S.-Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership, the matter of Burma is a key one to maintain on the agenda as the second and third largest democracies in the world work together to try to ease Burma's transition from military rule. The new USG approach, for example, provides an opportunity to leverage the GOI's Bali Democracy Forum on ways to engage Burma. OSIUS