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PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #2515/01 0550859
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 240859Z FEB 06
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0120
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS PRIORITY
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI PRIORITY 0162
RUEHSQ/AMEMBASSY SKOPJE PRIORITY 0002
RUEHSI/AMEMBASSY TBILISI PRIORITY 0022

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 002515 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV EAID KDEM ID
SUBJECT: CODEL KOLBE AND HDAC ENGAGE INDONESIAN LEGISLATORS 
 
REF: STATE 22598 
 
SUMMARY 
¶1. CODEL Kolbe met on February 21-22 with top legislators 
from the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) in the 
first overseas visit of the House Democracy Assistance 
Commission (HDAC).  Indonesian legislators welcomed the 
CODEL,s expertise on legislative affairs and its 
encouragement for the independence and empowerment of the 
legislative branch.  DPR members repeatedly requested 
additional resources, while also expressing concern about the 
optics of an American assistance program in which 
Indonesia might be seen as placed on a par with East 
Timor.  End Summary. 
 
CODEL MEETINGS AT THE DPR 
 
¶2. CODEL Kolbe, joined by President of The Asia Foundation 
Doug Bereuter, spent two days with Indonesian members of the 
DPR, discussing congressional processes and the importance of 
an independent legislature. 
The CODEL consisted of Representative Jim Kolbe 
(R-Arizona);Representative Lois Capps (D- California); 
Representative Adam Schiff (D-California); Representative 
Allyson Schwartz (D- Pennsylvia); HDAC Staff Director John 
Lis; Professional Staff Member Robert Lawrence, and House 
International Relations Committee Professional Staff Member 
Dan Getz. After an introductory call on DPR Speaker Agung 
Laksono, who joined the CODEL in a public ceremony 
formalizing HDAC-DPR cooperation, CODEL Kolbe met separately 
with representatives of the DPR,s 10 party factions, the DPR 
Budget Committee, the Committee for Inter- Parliamentary 
Cooperation, the Budget Committee, the Legislative Body, the 
House Administration Committee, and the U.S. Caucus. 
Additionally, CODEL members met with small groups of 
legislators for less formal discussions, and they held an 
offsite meeting with members of a newly formed team of DPR 
members charged with compiling an agenda for reforming the 
parliament,s institutional mechanisms. 
 
¶3. DPR members repeatedly asked about various aspects of the 
CODEL members, rights, responsibilities, 
and prerogatives.  When discussing their own system, the 
Indonesian legislators recited a litany of complaints, 
including: 
- inadequate staffing levels, and the fact that most 
administrative staff are in the employ of the DPR 
Secretariat, which is an executive branch institution; 
 
SIPDIS 
- the lack of expertise of DPR staff members, especially for 
legal drafting and research; 
- myriad difficulties in information gathering, which hampers 
oversight of government agencies and leaves the legislature 
at a disadvantage vis--vis the executive 
branch; 
- inadequate financial resources, and the public,s lack of 
support for efforts to increase salaries for legislators; 
and 
- difficulties communicating with constituents, and the 
expectations of constituents that legislators can provide 
handouts. 
 
¶4. Members of the DPR,s Legislative Body explained that they 
were in the process of drafting a law to provide the DPR with 
the authority to determine its own budget, so that the 
legislature would no longer need to rely on the good graces 
of the executive branch.  (Emir Moeis, the Chairman of the 
DPR Budget Committee, noted it was particularly difficult to 
carry out oversight of the Ministry of Finance, when that 
Ministry controlled the DPR,s budget.)  The DPR had also 
formed a team of legislators with a three-month mandate to 
review institutional mechanisms and recommend changes.This 
team,s mandate included the areas of: 
- rules of procedure; 
- bureaucratic reform; 
- budgetary processes and accountability; 
- infrastructure and facilities; and 
- communications and public access to information. 
 
¶5. Indonesian legislators expressed great interest in 
receiving concrete assistance in order to increase the 
effectiveness of the DPR.  Legislators most often decried 
their inadequate resources to hire staff, noting each member 
of the DPR was provided with only a single staff member, who 
typically functioned as a secretary or clerk.  Committees 
with dozens of members with responsibility for broad subject 
areas typically had only a handful of expert staff ) for 
example, the DPR,s Commission I, with responsibility for 
defense, foreign policy, intelligence, and communications, 
had only three expert staff members. DPR members also cited a 
need for new computers and a modern library.  When the CODEL 
 
JAKARTA 00002515  002 OF 002 
 
 
explained that the next step in the HDAC program would be a 
visit of approximately 10 DPR Members and staff to the United 
States to gain exposure to American legislative practices, 
numerous legislators expressed interest in joining that 
exchange program. 
 
¶6. DPR members noted they typically saw the United States as 
an advanced model of democratic practices.  However, they 
also displayed a certain sensitivity to the optics of the 
HDAC program.  At the opening ceremony formalizing HDAC-DPR 
cooperation, DPR Speaker Agung Laksono, addressing members of 
the press in Indonesian, emphasized that the HDAC had not 
come to Indonesia to dictate to members of the DPR; Agung 
highlighted for the media the remarks of CODEL members that 
the exchange encompassed a two-way dialogue, and that the 
American legislators sought also to learn from the Indonesian 
side. Indonesian interlocutors repeatedly asked how Indonesia 
had been selected for a program that included East Timor, 
hinting they were uneasy with the appearance the two 
countries fell into the same category. CODEL members stressed 
that the HDAC had selected five partner countries -East 
Timor, Georgia, Indonesia, Kenya, and Macdeonia- after 
considering a mix of factors, including the newness of the 
countries, democracies,ongoing efforts in each to implement 
parliamentary reforms, and the countries, size and 
importance. 
 
¶7. On various occasions, when dialogue strayed from 
institutional matters, the CODEL,s Indonesian counterparts 
sought to ascertain the CODEL,s image of Indonesia,s 
democracy and the degree of perceived Islamic radicalism in 
Indonesia.  DPR members also discussed current events,urging 
steps to address the grievances of Palestinians and in some 
cases stressing Indonesian support for Iran,s effort to 
engage in peaceful nuclear research. 
 
MEETING WITH CT OFFICIALS 
 
¶8. Outside of the DPR, the CODEL also met with leading 
figures engaged in Indonesian counterterrorism efforts. 
These interlocutors noted the GOI,s efforts to arrest and 
prosecute those engaged in terrorism, but, despite some 
successes, they cited difficulties stemming from existing 
rules of evidence, and the lack of legal grounds to charge 
persons training militant jihadists.  One high-ranking 
security official said that it would be necessary to embrace 
the more moderate jihadists and turn them against the most 
radical members of the terrorist organizations. 
 
DINNER WITH ECONOMIC OFFICIALS 
 
¶9. The Ambassador hosted a February 21 dinner in the CODEL,s 
honor with select members of President Yudhoyono,s cabinet 
and other prominent figures, primarily from the economic 
field.  The discussion centered on the state of Indonesia,s 
economy, the investment climate, and anti-corruption efforts. 
 Specifically addressing the oversight efforts of the DPR, 
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said she often found 
legislators had a zeal for oversight but often held 
unrealistic notions about economic 
policies. 
 
¶10. CODEL Kolbe has cleared this cable. 
PASCOE