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O 160727Z APR 08
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 000764 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/CM 
NSC FOR E.PHU 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/16/2018 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM ID CH XC
SUBJECT: A/S HILL'S MEETING WITH PRESIDENT YUDHOYONO 
 
REF: JAKARTA 684 
 
JAKARTA 00000764  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Cameron R. Hume, reasons 1.4 (b+d). 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY:  In an April 4 meeting, EAP A/S Hill and 
President Yudhoyono (SBY) engaged in a lively discussion of 
democracy, Burma and other issues in the Southeast Asian 
region, and China/Tibet.  Yudhoyono and Hill also discussed 
U.S.-Indonesia bilateral relations, including plans for the 
Peace Corps to return to Indonesia.   END SUMMARY. 
 
STATE OF THE U.S.-INDONESIA BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP 
 
¶2. (C) A/S Hill met President Yudhoyono on April 4 at the 
Presidential Palace in Jakarta.  FM Wirajuda and Ambassador 
Hume also joined the meeting.  A/S Hill underscored that more 
work needs to be done with the U.S. Congress to make progress 
on engagement with Kopassus specifically and TNI more 
generally, adding that suspicion of TNI remains high in some 
quarters.  SBY said it was essential to change the 
misunderstandings and misperceptions of Indonesia, which was 
why he always met CODELS and other visitors.  But, Yudhoyono 
cautioned, Congressional visitors frequently wanted immediate 
results and failed to recognize the challenges facing 
Indonesia or the progress that the country had made. 
 
¶3. (C) A/S Hill told President Yudhoyono that the Peace Corps 
had decided to return to Indonesia, subject to 
adequate funding.  Peace Corps officials would soon be in 
touch with the GOI to discuss moving forward with 
reestablishing the program.  The return of the Peace Corps to 
Indonesia would itself be beneficial, and would serve as a 
strong signal that Indonesia was now a safe destination for 
tourism and business travel. SBY welcomed this initiative, 
and felt it would help bring a real understanding of 
Indonesia to the United States.  A/S Hill also indicated that 
the Department was looking at revising the travel warning, a 
sensitive subject in bilateral relations. 
 
BURMA 
 
¶4. (C) The president also commented on Burmese ruler Than 
Shwe's disappointing reply to Yudhoyono's recent letter. 
Than Shwe had merely justified the regime's inaction, placing 
blame on Aung San Suu Kyi for refusing to cooperate with the 
regime's efforts to impose its "road map" to democracy.  The 
Burmese ruler had claimed the regime would continue to 
implement democracy but in a slow step-by-step process. 
Indicating some frustration with ASEAN's efforts to promote 
change in Burma, SBY focused his discussion on Indonesian 
efforts to engage the regime.  He asked that the United 
States pressure China and India into a more active role. 
Yudhoyono stated it was hard for Indonesia to talk about 
Burma without Chinese support, since anytime ASEAN tried to 
push the Burmese, they moved closer to China. 
 
¶5.  (C) A/S Hill commented that China had not provided a way 
forward on the Burma issue, and stressed that Burma was an 
emotional issue in the United States.  It was critical that 
ASEAN step up its efforts, while continuing to support UN 
Special Envoy Gambari.  If ASEAN was unable to resolve the 
matter internally, and Burma continued to marginalize 
Gambari, it would drive the discussion into the UNSC, where 
unity would be harder to maintain.  However, success on this 
issue would significantly strengthen ASEAN.  A/S Hill urged 
SBY to work with ASEAN to find a practical way forward in 
order to avoid harming the U.S.-ASEAN relationship.  SBY 
recommended that A/S Hill discuss these issues with PM Lee of 
Singapore, the current chair of ASEAN, and indicated he would 
call Lee to stress this point as well. 
 
DEMOCRACY AND OTHER REGIONAL ISSUES 
 
¶6. (C)   Yudhoyono noted that Indonesia sought to promote 
democracy in the region.  Indonesia had been the last ASEAN 
member to recognize the coup government in Thailand, and had 
urged a quick return to democracy there.  The coup leaders 
 
JAKARTA 00000764  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
had promised not to rule for more than a year, and they had 
kept this promise. 
 
¶7. (C) SBY said Philippine President Arroyo had contacted him 
some time back through her Ambassador in Jakarta to say she 
had been concerned about a possible military coup in the 
Philippines.  SBY had told Arroyo that Indonesia would not 
support any undemocratic action against the Philippine 
Government.  SBY told A/S Hill it was important that the 
Philippines be invited to Organization of the Islamic 
Conference (OIC) meetings as an observer, as this might be a 
helpful step in resolving the Mindanao conflict. 
 
¶8. (C) Yudhoyono said a portion of the Malaysian government 
still believed that semi-authoritarian rule was appropriate 
for their country.  But the people of Malaysia saw the 
openness and progress occurring in neighboring Indonesia, 
which was culturally and ethnically similar, and compared it 
with media controls and affirmative action for the ethnic 
Malays in their own country.  Malaysia could not continue to 
oppose reform or it would isolate itself, Yudhoyono stated. 
 
CHINA/TIBET 
 
¶9.  (C) After a brief discussion of the Six-Party talks, A/S 
Hill explained that President Bush planned to honor his 
promise to attend the Olympics in Beijing.  The Olympics were 
a source of pride for all Chinese, including those who were 
critical of the government.  However, China must stop 
vilifying the Dalai Lama and be more honest with journalists 
and diplomats who visited Tibet.  SBY said that the rhetoric 
from China on Tibet sounded the "same as Indonesia's from 20 
years ago, when speaking about Aceh," and he wondered whether 
the Chinese had considered some form of special autonomy as a 
way to resolve the issue without military intervention. 
Indonesia had done this in Aceh and Papua, with some success. 
 
SBY CONCERNED ABOUT ECONOMY 
 
¶10. (C) Turning to the domestic front, SBY admitted that 
increasing commodities prices were becoming a challenge 
economically, socially and politically (reftel).  He also 
said he had learned from his 2005 attempt to cut fuel 
subsidies: it had taken two years for people's purchasing 
power to recover.  He did not want to repeat this and was 
therefore looking at subsidies that only the poor would 
receive.  He also planned to reduce total fuel consumption 
and cut subsidies, while explaining to people that this was 
increasingly a global phenomenon, not simply an Indonesian 
problem. 
HUME