VZCZCXRO4116
RR RUEHBC RUEHCHI RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDE RUEHDT RUEHGI RUEHHM RUEHKUK
RUEHLH RUEHPW RUEHROV
DE RUEHJS #0044/01 2750958
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 020958Z OCT 07
FM AMCONSUL SURABAYA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0063
INFO RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 0056
RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUCNISL/ISLAMIC COLLECTIVE
RUEHJS/AMCONSUL SURABAYA 0065

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SURABAYA 000044 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, EAP/PD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL KPAO ECON ID
SUBJECT: CONGEN SURABAYA CLEBRATES RAMADAN 
 
REF: STATE 112013 
 
SURABAYA 00000044  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. SUMMARY:  U.S. Consulate General Surabaya planned and hosted 
five separate Iftar activities during the month of September. 
Two were hosted by the Consul General at her residence, and 
another one was hosted by the CG in Manado, in the province of 
North Sulawesi.  Another two events involved underprivileged 
children in the Surabaya area, including one with children 
displaced by the Sidoarjo mudflow.  The activities involved all 
sections of the Consulate and generated extensive positive media 
coverage, including articles in some media with which we 
previously had no contact.  End Summary. 
 
ADULT IFTARS 
------------- 
 
¶2. The Consul General hosted two Iftars at her residence, one 
focusing on Political and Economic contacts, the other on Public 
Affairs contacts.  CG McClelland offered welcoming remarks in 
Indonesian, highlighting the spiritual aspects of the fast and 
emphasizing her desire to have the consulate staff integrated 
with the local community.  After the fast was broken, attendees 
prayed in a specially prepared area, led by local Islamic 
organization heads. The East Java chairmen of both Nahdhatul 
Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah attended the first Iftar. 
 
¶3. Press coverage of these events included a lengthy article, 
with several color pictures, in a Chinese-language Surabaya 
daily with which the consulate had previously not had contact. 
Based on reactions from members of the Chinese Muslim 
Association in attendance, the article noted that the event 
demonstrated the respect which Americans have for religious 
tolerance.  The article also commented that the U.S. Consulate 
helped foster unity and understanding among groups of 
Indonesians that do not often interact. 
 
¶4. While visiting the majority Christian province of North 
Sulawesi, the CG hosted the local chairman of the North Sulawesi 
Ulama Council and the Chairman of North Sulawesi Muhammadiyah 
and their families to break their fast. 
 
CHILDREN'S IFTARS 
------------------ 
 
¶5.  The first of two Iftars with needy children was held at 
Alang-Alang, a shelter for Surabaya street children.  The CG, 
American and Indonesian members of the consulate staff, and 
their families were treated to musical performances by the 
children.  The Consulate staff and some of their children got 
quick lessons on how to play the angklung, a traditional 
Indonesian percussion instrument made of bamboo, and joined the 
other kids for one number.  CG McClelland gave short remarks and 
then answered questions from the children.  At a child's 
request, the Americans sang the Star Spangled Banner, and toured 
the shelter's facilities.  The Consulate donated 15 books to the 
library, and then all the children, numbering about 200, 
received dinner and gifts of prayer mats and beads. 
 
¶6. The Alang-Alang event was held in the street in front of the 
shelter and many members of the community gathered to watch the 
proceedings.  Media coverage was extensive, with color pictures 
in appearing in all the local major dailies, and highlights from 
the event broadcast on local television.  The Jakarta Post, the 
leading English language daily in Indonesia, also featured the 
Surabaya Iftar event with a picture of the CG playing an 
angklung with the children. 
 
Victims of the Mud Flow 
------------------------ 
 
¶7. The highlight of Consulate Surabaya's Iftar events was a 
visit to the Porong Market refugee facility, housing families 
left homeless by the Sidoarjo mudflow disaster.  Prior to 
breaking the fast, CG McClelland and members of the Consulate 
staff toured the market area, seeing how rows of windowless 
market stalls without doors had been converted into family 
residences.  After a short video presentation of Muslim Life in 
America, the CG delivered Iftar remarks and signaled the 
breaking of the fast with dinner and gifts for over 300 
elementary school-aged children.  There was a real sense of 
excitement and anticipation as the kids lined up with previously 
distributed tickets to receive their meals and wrapped presents. 
 
 
¶8. Everything related to the mudflow generates intense press 
interest, and this event was no exception.  Television, radio, 
and print coverage was extensive, and despite local authorities' 
concerns prior to the event about potential negative coverage or 
demonstrations, the stories focused on the interaction of 
consulate staff and the children at Porong, and were universally 
 
SURABAYA 00000044  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
positive.  Separately, referring to press coverage of the 
children's Iftars, Mohammed Nur, a former Governor of East Java 
and elder statesmen of East Java politics, praised the 
Consulate's efforts to reach out to disadvantaged members of the 
community. 
MCCLELLAND