VZCZCXRO6526
OO RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #0536 0770641
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 170641Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8357
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS PRIORITY
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2181
RUEHPB/AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY 3725
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 4825
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 1669
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1674
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 2500
RUEHPT/AMCONSUL PERTH 0637
RHHJJPI/USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

UNCLAS JAKARTA 000536 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MLS, EAP/MTS, DRL, DRL/AWH 
NSC FOR EPHU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM ID
SUBJECT: INDONESIA -- REACTION TO THE 2007 HUMAN RIGHTS 
REPORT 
 
REF: JAKARTA 504 AND PREVIOUS 
 
¶1.  (U) SUMMARY:  The Indonesian media has reacted in 
straightforward fashion to the 2007 Country Report on Human 
Rights Practices.  Government officials and activists 
expressed general agreement with the Indonesia chapter of the 
report, commenting that while Indonesia has made progress, it 
still has a way to go to improve human rights practices.  One 
area of improvement appeared on the horizon this week when 
the Attorney General's office announced it would take action 
to investigate the 1998-99 killing of students in Jakarta. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
MEDIA REPORTS IN STRAIGHTFORWARD FASHION 
 
¶2.  (U) At least four national news outlets carried articles 
on the 2007 Country Report on Human Rights Practices 
following its March 11 dissemination.  National Bahasa 
Indonesia newspaper Seputar Indonesia highlighted positive 
elements of the report, noting the U.S. assessment of the 
Indonesian government's seriousness in its efforts to 
prosecute the murder of human rights activist Munir Said 
Thalib, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's signing of an 
anti-trafficking law, and the improvement in the performance 
of the Indonesian National Police, especially in handling 
demonstrations without using violence.  Straightforward, 
non-critical articles were also carried by Media Indonesia, 
Rakyat Merdeka and the Jakarta Post (the major English 
language newspaper in the country). 
 
POSITIVE VIBES FROM CONTACTS 
 
¶3.  (U) Government officials and civil society activists 
reacted positively to the report.  Deputy Commissioner Ridha 
Saleh, of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM), 
told the media that Komnas HAM's year-end report had reached 
similar conclusions to our report.  Wiwiek Setyawati Firman, 
Director of Human Rights at the Department of Foreign 
Affairs, said in comments to the press: "in general, we 
realize we're not perfect yet" but "we're going in that 
direction."  She noted Indonesia's ratification of U.N. 
conventions and compliance with mandated reporting 
requirements. 
 
¶4.  (U) Human rights activists expressed similar sentiments 
to poloff.  They noted that while human rights conditions are 
not as grave as they were in the Suharto-era, there is still 
a way to go toward accountability and improving legal 
protections for citizens. 
 
A STEP TOWARD ACCOUNTABILITY 
 
¶5.  (U) In the meantime, the government is taking action on 
three high-profile cases highlighted in this year's report: 
the cases of 1998 and 1999 in which a total of 18 students 
were killed during demonstrations.  Attorney General 
Hendarman Supanji publicly announced that he was working with 
Komnas HAM to investigate the shootings, widely known as 
"Trisakti and Semanggi I and II" after the Jakarta locations 
where the incidents occurred.  When pressed for the cases' 
status, he told the media that his office was working to make 
sure that the evidence that has been gathered would fulfill 
the legal requirements of court cases. 
 
HUME