VZCZCXRO8296
PP RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #0391/01 0580943
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 270943Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8114
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 4750
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2054
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 1604
RUEHPB/AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY 3678
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1566
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 2358
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 2438
RUEHPT/AMCONSUL PERTH 0580

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 000391 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR EAP A/S HILL AND H A/S BERGNER FROM AMBASSADOR HUME; 
ALSO PASS TO EAP DAS MARCIEL AND EAP/MTS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV OVIP ID
SUBJECT: CODEL PRICE FOLLOW-ON: LEVERAGING CONGRESSIONAL 
INTEREST IN INDONESIA 
 
REF: JAKARTA 372 
 
JAKARTA 00000391  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (U) This message is Sensitive but Unclassified -- Please 
handle accordingly. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Assistant Secretaries:  Representative David Price 
(D-NC) recently led a House Democracy Assistance Commission 
(HDAC) delegation to Indonesia (reftel).  While the focus of 
the visit was on legislative strengthening exercises with the 
parliament, Mission also sought to leverage the visit to call 
attention to the importance and depth of our bilateral 
relationship with Indonesia.  Our visitors were receptive to 
this message and signaled interest in a long-term dialogue on 
Indonesia.  They also expressed a number of specific 
interests of relevance to the Department as it engages the 
Hill on the full range of issues.  I would like to share some 
of those identified interests as I believe they will help 
inform follow-on conversations with our friends on the Hill 
about Indonesia, as well as about the Department's work more 
broadly.  A full list of CODEL participants is included in 
paragraph 12. 
 
¶3. (SBU) As reported in Ref A, CODEL Price visited Indonesia 
as part of HDAC's legislative assistance program.  This was 
the third HDAC visit to Indonesia in two years and the HDAC 
program here has already yielded significant results.  Among 
other things, during the course of this visit HDAC and the 
Indonesian parliament signed an MOU that formalizes training 
and information exchanges between the two legislatures. 
 
¶4. (SBU) HDAC Chairman Price, in particular, quickly 
underscored his commitment to the spirit of the MOU by 
signaling his intent to dispatch a legislative drafting staff 
delegation to Indonesia to assist the Indonesian parliament's 
undermanned legislative drafting body.  The visit could take 
place as soon as May of this year.  All of the Members also 
demonstrated great enthusiasm for the possibility of 
internship or fellowship programs that could bring qualified 
graduate students to work as staffers or legislative staff 
with the Indonesian parliament.  USAID involvement in such a 
program was discussed as a possibility. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Above and beyond their legislative strengthening 
program here, I also had occasion to brief our Congressional 
visitors on USG efforts to define a "strategic center" to 
U.S.-Indonesian relations.  This "strategic center" would 
encompass three areas:  1. Reform--How does the U.S. support 
the massive reform efforts underway in Indonesia?  2. 
Security--How do we develop a stronger relationship with both 
the police and the military? 3. Connections--How do we 
encourage Indonesia to open up to the outside world?  This 
briefing led to a spirited discussion on a range of issues of 
importance to Mission and the Department more broadly. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Representative McDermott (D-WA), a physician by 
trade, expressed grave concerns about the spread of the avian 
influenza (H5NI) virus in Indonesia.  McDermott later 
articulated those same concerns in a meeting with President 
Yudhoyono (reftel), urging the President to share avian 
influenza samples with the international community. 
McDermott also related his interest in the renewable energies 
sector, noting that his son heads US Renewables Group, an 
asset management group based in Los Angeles. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Representative Farr (D-CA), a former Peace Corps 
volunteer, inquired about plans for a renewed Peace Corps 
presence in Indonesia.  Farr identified himself as an 
unabashed Peace Corps supporter and expressed his hope that 
the Peace Corps would re-establish a footprint in Indonesia 
as soon as possible.  As a member of the Homeland Security 
Subcommittee, Farr also asked for Mission's thoughts on the 
viability of an IMET like program for Homeland Security. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Representative Price, in addition to sharing his 
enthusiasm for extensive legislative links between the U.S. 
and Indonesia, also demonstrated a keen interest in the 
Indonesian legislature's civilian oversight of the Indonesian 
military.  He spoke extensively about the importance of such 
oversight and held a long conversation with the Indonesian 
 
JAKARTA 00000391  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
legislature's Defense Chair on the subject. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Representative Hirono (D-HI) showed great interest 
in the full range of women's issues.  From the participation 
of women in Indonesian politics, to Indonesian social and 
cultural attitudes towards women, she was very engaged in 
women's issues at every turn. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Throughout CODEL Price's five-day visit to Aceh and 
Jakarta, I was continually struck by the palpable enthusiasm 
and interest in Indonesian affairs shown by our Congressional 
visitors.  The United States has a remarkable opportunity to 
help this country of over 240 million people secure a bright 
future, while building the foundation for a long-term 
partnership in a strategic corner of the world.  We believe 
the Congressional visitors that visited Indonesia with CODEL 
Price share this vision for our relationship with Indonesia 
and will be receptive to further engagement with the 
Department as we look for ways to move forward USG 
legislative priorities for Indonesia. 
 
¶11. (U) Mission would be pleased to provide additional 
information and looks forward to assisting in ongoing 
contacts with key interlocutors.  Regards, Cameron. 
 
¶12. (U) A listing of Congressional participants with CODEL 
Price: 
 
Representatives: 
David Price (D-NC) 
John Boozman (D-AR) 
Sam Farr (D-CA) 
Mazie Hirono (D-HI) 
Michael Conaway (R-TX) 
Jim McDermott (D-WA) 
 
House Staff: 
Dr. Kay King, Director, Interparliamentary Affairs 
Tommy Ross, Legislative Assistant, Office of Rep. David Price 
Rachael Leman, Policy Director, Office of Rep. David Dreier 
John Lis, Staff Director, HDAC 
Dick Nanto, Specialist in Industry and Trade, CRS 
Hannah Fischer, Information Research Specialist, CRS 
 
End. 
HUME