VZCZCXRO7456
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #2514/01 0550859
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 240859Z FEB 06
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0118
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 9058
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 9586
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 0591
RHHMUNA/USCINCPAC HONOLULU HI
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/DOD WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 002514 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, AND DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KJUS ID
SUBJECT: SENATOR FEINGOLD MEETS INDONESIAN HUMAN RIGHTS AND 
LEGAL REFORM ADVOCATES 
 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Senator Russ Feingold met February 23 with 
Indonesian human rights and judicial reform NGOs, and 
expressed strong support for the promotion of human rights in 
Indonesia and justice for past abuses.  Human rights 
advocates expressed disappointment at lack of progress in 
accountability for significant human rights violations. 
Participants noted that Indonesia's justice system remained 
weak, corrupt, and poorly funded, and they linked judicial 
reform with human rights accountability.  They debated 
President Yudhoyono's commitment to human rights, mentioning 
his military background as a factor.  NGOs expressed cautious 
optimism regarding Aceh.  The advocates emphasized the 
continued importance of civil society organizations, like 
their own, for advancing democracy and human rights.  End 
Summary. 
 
SENATOR MEETS FIVE LEADING NGOS 
------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Senator Feingold, accompanied by professional staff 
member Grey Frandsen and Embassy officers, hosted a February 
23 lunch for representatives of five leading human rights and 
judicial reform NGOs:  Rafendi Djamin, Coordinator of the 
Human Rights Working Group; Bivitri Susanti, Executive 
Director of the Center for Indonesian Law and Policy Studies; 
Uli Sihombing, Director of the Jakarta Legal Aid Society; 
Papan Hidayat of the Commission for Disappearances and 
Victims of Violence (KONTRAS); and Ibrahim Assegaf, Managing 
Director of Hukum Online.com. 
 
ACCOUNTABILITY CRITICAL, BUT LACKING 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The Senator explained his strong support for the 
promotion of human rights in Indonesia and accountability for 
past abuses, including the 1999 crimes in East Timor.  He 
asked for perspectives from the NGOs and broader society. 
The human rights advocates described their disappointment 
with the lack of accountability for past gross violations, 
and said impunity for past crimes hurt the current human 
rights climate.  Protection of human rights had not matched 
the country's democratic progress.  The NGO figures noted 
examples of failed attempts to convict security force members 
for gross human rights violations, including the East Timor 
tribunal, the Abepura trial, and the Tanjung Priok tribunal. 
They highlighted the example of murdered human rights 
campaigner Munir, in which the government has yet to bring to 
justice senior actors believed responsible for the 
conspiracy.  In response to a question about public backing 
for accountability, all agreed that the Indonesian public 
supported justice.  One participant stated that the average 
voter would care about accountability and rule of law if they 
saw the connection between these and issues that impacted 
their quality of life.  He argued that the average Indonesian 
increasingly understands that connection, citing as an 
example the popular fight against corruption. 
 
WEAK JUSTICE SECTOR, POORLY FUNDED 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Participants noted that Indonesia's justice system, 
particularly the courts, remained weak, corrupt, and poorly 
funded.  Participants clearly linked judicial reform with 
efforts to achieve human rights accountability.  Indonesians, 
who historically never had a strong belief in the integrity 
of the judicial system, had lost faith in the rule of law. 
The newly-achieved independence of the judicial branch, 
gradually separated from the executive branch under political 
reforms since the fall of President Suharto, risked the 
unintended consequence of weakening the accountability of the 
courts.  Senator Feingold noted the statement of a senior 
Indonesian official to the effect that the government "lacked 
sufficient logistics" to ensure justice in human rights 
cases.  Participants agreed this was unacceptable, but 
confirmed that the justice sector faces serious funding 
constraints to the extent that some courts cannot pay their 
utility bills. 
 
YUDHOYONO'S MISSED OPPORTUNITY 
 
JAKARTA 00002514  002 OF 002 
 
 
------------------------------ 
 
¶5.  (SBU) One NGO representative stated that President 
Yudhoyono was missing an opportunity as Indonesia's first 
directly elected president, and therefore arguably it's most 
legitimate leader, to do much more to protect human rights. 
He said that Yudhoyono succeeded in making Indonesia a 
signatory to two more international treaties on human rights, 
but that this represented only normative progress.  He 
believed that Yudhoyono, as a retired general, catered too 
much to the military, noting Yudhoyono's decision to reaffirm 
the military's territory command structure and grant vaguely 
defined arrest powers to the military for the purposes of 
fighting terrorism.  Another participant asserted that 
Yudhoyono may care about human rights, but he carried too 
much "military baggage."  Participants also noted that 
Indonesia's entrenched bureaucracy impeded change and could 
frustrate the President's directives. 
 
ACEH 
---- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) NGO participants credited Yudhoyono with starting 
the Aceh peace process even before his inauguration, while 
noting that the tsunami provided a major impetus for the 
sudden breakthrough in talks.  A participant stated that the 
Law on Governing Aceh now pending before the national 
legislature, and the law's treatment of autonomy, could 
provide a positive example for governance in other provinces. 
 While the new legal framework for Aceh would create a new 
political sphere that politicians may try to manipulate, the 
NGOs representatives appeared cautiously optimistic that Aceh 
would achieve stability under the framework of the peace 
accord. 
 
IMPORTANCE OF CIVIL SOCIETY 
--------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) One participant argued that the future direction of 
Indonesia will largely depend on civil society because 
politicians could not be trusted to lead the country in the 
right direction.  NGO leaders agreed that there is political 
space for organizations to have critical discussions about 
government policies.  Political space existed before 
Yudhoyono took office, and even under Suharto.  Unlike 
before, however, government now invited civil society to 
discussions, and if there were disagreements, those with 
differing opinions could advocate in the media.  Civil 
society often formed interest groups focused on specific 
issues and laws, and such groups attempted to lobby the 
national legislature.  The government's view, however, 
usually triumphed due to Yudhoyono's backing by parties 
included in his cabinet.  Participants called for continued 
international donor support to civil society organizations, 
and Embassy representatives explained the Mission's strong 
commitment in this area. 
 
¶8.  (U) Codel Feingold has cleared this message. 
PASCOE