VZCZCXRO5965
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #0291/01 0330636
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 020636Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3120
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS IMMEDIATE
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA IMMEDIATE 0379
RUEHPB/AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY IMMEDIATE 3291
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO IMMEDIATE 0196
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON IMMEDIATE 1320
RHHJJPI/USPACOM HONOLULU HI IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 000291 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
SECSTATE FOR H - PLS PASS REP. FALEOMAVAEGA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM EINV EAID EMIN SOCI CASC ID
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR STRESSES AID, INVESTMENT IN PAPUA 
 
REF: 06 JAKARTA 11662 (NEW PAPUAN GOVERNOR) 
 
JAKARTA 00000291  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (U) Introduction and Summary.  On a January 21 - 24 visit 
to Papua Province, Ambassador B. Lynn Pascoe stressed the 
importance to Papua's development of both foreign aid and 
foreign investment.  He said that the U.S. was examining ways 
to increase assistance to Papua, especially in the form of 
public-private partnerships.  He also reiterated our 
longstanding position that the U.S. recognizes that Papua is 
part of the Republic of Indonesia, and does not support 
separatism in Papua or elsewhere in the country.  Accompanied 
by the USAID Mission Director and Economic Counselor, the 
Ambassador toured the Freeport gold and copper mine and 
visited community development projects that the company has 
undertaken.  USAID is exploring the potential for a 
public-private partnership with Freeport in education and 
capacity-building for local government in the Timika area. 
In the provincial capital Jayapura, Ambassador held a town 
meeting with U.S. citizens, met with Vice Governor Alex 
Hesegem, visited a Community Health Center where USAID is 
supporting Papua's struggle against HIV/AIDS, met with the 
leaders of the Papuan People's Assembly, and held a dinner 
with religious and civil society leaders.  The visit received 
heavy and favorable coverage in both the local and national 
media.  End summary. 
 
Freeport Seeks USAID Support On Community Development 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) The Ambassador, USAID Director and Economic 
Counselor visited the Freeport MacMoran mining operation in 
the Timika/Puncak Jaya areas of Papua on January 21 - 22. 
After a helicopter tour of the Grasberg gold and copper mine, 
which is at an elevation of 13,000 feet, the party returned 
to Freeport's base and processing operations in the lowlands 
near Timika. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Freeport officials briefed the party on the 
company's community development efforts.  Freeport 
contributes USD 25 million annually for direct programs in 
local business development, public health, human capital 
development and infrastructure.  In addition, one percent of 
Freeport's annual revenue goes into the Freeport Partnership 
Fund, managed by local partner organization LPMAK, for 
health, education, and economic development projects.  The 
Ambassador visited a hospital and a vocational training 
center that receive finding through this mechanism. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Freeport has approached USAID with a proposal to 
form, together with the government of Mimika Regency and 
LPMAK, a partnership to build capacity of local government to 
provide services.  The Center for Local Government 
Innovation, a USAID-funded partner, has already determined 
that the Mimika regency government's ability to provide basic 
services is seriously deficient in almost all areas, 
particularly education. 
 
AmCits Welcome Ambassador at Town Hall 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) On January 23, the Ambassador's party continued to 
Jayapura, the provincial capital.  The Ambassador met with a 
group of about 150 American citizens at the Hillcrest 
International School, which supports mainly missionary 
families, many affiliated with Mission Aviation Fellowship. 
Following a presentation on U.S. relations with Indonesia and 
policies towards Papua, he discussed terrorism in Indonesia, 
development assistance to Papua, and the Timika case, among 
other topics.  Some parents expressed their concern about an 
intermittently-used TNI firing range near the school. 
 
Vice Governor Emphasizes Shared Priorities 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶6. (SBU) In the absence of Governor Suebu, Vice Governor Alex 
Hesegem outlined to the Ambassador the challenges to 
development in Papua.  The province's overall backwardness 
and poverty was compounded by the dispersal of the population 
over a large area, with many people still living in remote 
villages.  Nevertheless, Hesegem said, his administration was 
making a concerted effort to improve infrastructure, health 
care, and basic education.  The Vice Governor also outlined 
plans for administrative reform.  Papua's budget needed to be 
spent in a more transparent and effective manner so that it 
 
JAKARTA 00000291  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
would have a more appreciable impact on people's lives, 
Hesegem said.  Hesegem specified development of eco-tourism 
and forestry enforcement as two areas in which he would 
welcome U.S. assistance and training for Papuans. 
 
¶7. (SBU) The Ambassador, recalling his meeting in September 
with Governor Suebu (reftel), commended these priorities, 
noting that they tracked well with our overall aid strategy 
in Indonesia.  USAID personnel were sent to participate in 
Governor Suebu's international donors' conference last 
September.  The Ambassador outlined our major assistance 
programs in the areas of health, education, and local 
governance and said that we hoped to expand these into Papua. 
 Our overall approach, he said, was to help the Papuans help 
themselves.  We did not seek to impose our priorities on 
Papua, but rather to assist the provincial government in 
implementing the agenda it had already identified.  A USAID 
team will return to the area in 6 - 8 weeks to conduct an 
assessment of the potential for forming a public-private 
partnership with Freeport in the areas of education and local 
government. 
 
¶8. (SBU) The USAID Mission Director agreed that we shared 
many priorities and noted that USAID was seeking to expand 
its work on HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis.  We were 
also active in expanding local governance capacity and 
education programs in Papua.  The Ambassador added that we 
were looking at ways we could work with major foreign 
investors in Papua, including BP and Freeport, in 
implementing these programs. 
 
MRP Says Special Autonomy A Work In Progress 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) The Ambassador also met with the leaders of the 
Papuan People's Assembly (Majeles Rakyat Papua, MRP), a body 
created by the 2001 Special Autonomy Law and charged with 
protecting the rights of indigenous Papuans.  Chairman Agus 
Alue complained that the central government had been 
inconsistent in its implementation of Special Autonomy for 
Papua, pointing out that although the national legislation 
had been passed five years ago, the provincial MRP had only 
been set up last year.  Alue explained that most of the 
regulations required to ensure effective and transparent 
implementation of Special Autonomy had never been formulated. 
 The MRP, he said, was now working with the Papuan Provincial 
Parliament on drafting these regulations together with a time 
frame for their implementation.  One aim of these 
regulations, he said, would be to "control the flow of 
capital and people into Papua," reflecting the MRP's concerns 
about the influx of non-Papuans in the province.  He urged 
the U.S. to press Jakarta to make a good-faith effort to 
implement Special Autonomy in full.  MRP Vice Chairman Hanna 
Hikoyabi argued that although Jakarta did not want the issue 
of Papua to become "internationalized," the international 
community has played a determining role in Papua's destiny 
ever since the U.S. had mediated the New York Agreement 
between Indonesia and the Netherlands in 1962 and the U.N.'s 
subsequent recognition of the Act of Free Choice.  She said 
that Papuans were tired of being the objects of outside 
parties' maneuverings and that they now feared extinction as 
non-indigenous people "flooded into the province." 
 
¶10. (SBU) The Ambassador assured the MRP that Washington was 
interested in Papuans' welfare and concerns, and outlined 
USAID's programs.  Responding to criticism from some MRP 
members about Freeport, Ambassador said that the company 
employs and trains thousands of Papuans, and that rather than 
attack the company, Papuans should seek ways to engage the 
company as a partner in development.  Examples abound proving 
that foreign investment was a key component of growth and 
development, and Papuans should welcome it. 
 
Community Health Center: Partnership Against HIV 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶11. (SBU) The Ambassador, accompanied by Vice Governor 
Hesegem, visited the North Jayapura Community Health Center 
(PusKesMas), which is one of six clinics participating in a 
USAID-supported pilot program incorporating HIV/AIDS testing, 
treatment, and education into existing community health care 
programs.  USAID, working through Family Health International 
(FHI), is providing USD 9.5 million in technical and 
financial support for FY 07, of which USD 3.7 million is 
 
JAKARTA 00000291  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
dedicated to programs in Papua. 
 
¶12. (SBU) After a tour of the clinic, the Ambassador received 
briefings from FHI staff on the scope of the HIV/AIDS 
epidemic in Papua and ongoing efforts to combat it.  FHI 
staff explained that although there have been about 2,700 
documented cases of HIV infection in Papua over the past 14 
years, the Provincial AIDS Commission estimates that actual 
number is currently about 11,000.  The problem is much more 
severe in Papua than elsewhere in Indonesia.  The infection 
rate per 100,000 is dramatically higher in Papua than 
nationally (51.42 versus 3.61).  In Papua, the challenge of 
fighting HIV/AIDS is compounded by lack of skilled human 
resources, dispersed and isolated settlements, poor 
infrastructure, and low levels of health and education 
generally. 
 
¶13. (SBU) To address the problem, Papua's provincial 
authorities, working closely with international experts and 
donors including USAID, are incorporating HIV/AIDS testing 
and counseling into the existing network of community health 
care centers such as the one we visited in North Jayapura. 
The newly elected Governor has strongly supported this 
initiative, according to FHI and clinic staff.  The 
Ambassador also saw ample evidence of a public education 
campaign, supported by international partners who are working 
with churches and adat (tribal) organizations, to help 
accurate information reach all levels of society.  In 
comments to the press, Ambassador Pascoe emphasized his 
strong commitment to enhancing U.S. support for these health 
programs. 
 
Major Press Coverage 
-------------------- 
 
¶14. (U) The visit -- the first by an American Ambassador in 
five years -- received ample coverage in both local and 
national media.  It was front page news in the Papuan press, 
and the story was also picked up by major national outlets 
such as Media Indonesia and the Antara news.  Coverage 
focused on U.S. assistance to Papua, particularly with regard 
to HIV/AIDS and education.  The media also reported the 
Ambassador's restatement of our recognition of Papua's 
incorportation into Indonesia and our hope that the central 
government would improve its implementation of the Special 
Autonomy Law.  The key theme for the visit was U.S. support 
for the welfare of the Papuan people, including by pushing 
Jakarta to do more. 
PASCOE