VZCZCXRO9806
PP RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #1083/01 1550949
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 030949Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9183
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHHE/AMEMBASSY HELSINKI 0923
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2594
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE 3402
RUEHSM/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM 2083
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHHMUNA/USCINCPAC HONOLULU HI
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001083 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
AIDAC 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MTS, DS/IP/EAP, DS/DSS, INR/EAP and INL 
DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS AID 
USAID FOR ANE/EAA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON ASEC CASC SOCI ID
SUBJECT: Villagers Blockade USAID Contractor Office in Aceh 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary. Villagers barricaded the complex of USAID-funded 
engineering subcontractor Parsons near the town of Lamno in Aceh on 
the night of June 2.  Signs on the barricades warned people against 
attempting to enter or exit the compound.  Two Americans and 
numerous Indonesian staff were inside at the time. While insisting 
that Parson's personnel were never in any danger, the village chief 
justified the action on the grounds that not enough villagers were 
employed by the project.  The situation was defused after community 
representatives held a dialogue with the police, Parsons, the 
military, and others. Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf and Regional 
Military Commander Supiadin AS acknowledged that events such as 
these are all too common in Aceh and expressed embarrassment over 
the incident. Aceh Police Chief Rismawan promised an investigation. 
End Summary. 
 
Event Chronology 
---------------- 
¶2.  (SBU) The Parsons Corporation is a USG contractor on the 
USAID-funded road project in western Aceh.  The guest house and 
office complex in a village on the edge of the small town of Lamno 
on the road from Banda Aceh to the western coastal town of Calang 
normally houses 14 local staff, and on the night of June 2 three 
expatriate Parsons employees including two Americans were staying at 
the guesthouse on the complex.  Sometime around 11:00PM on June 2 
local a group of approximately 70 villagers blocked the access roads 
to the Parsons property with barricades and signs warning people 
against attempting to enter or exit. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Parsons' personnel immediately contacted the police and 
local officials after noticing the barricades.  The authorities 
arranged for a meeting of all parties to discuss the community's 
grievances on June 3. At the meeting, villagers demanded greater 
employment on the Aceh road project. Because the letters the village 
had written on the subject had gone unanswered, villagers said, they 
had no choice but take stronger action to ensure that they were 
taken seriously.  Several hours later, once Parsons agreed to 
facilitate contact with local subcontractor Hutama Karya, the 
villagers agreed to remove the barricades.  Police informed the 
villagers that their actions were illegal and warned them of more 
direct consequences should they attempt to block access to the 
Parsons compound in the future. 
 
Reaction 
-------- 
¶4.  (SBU) Regional GAM commander Alex Abi told Consulate Medan that 
the organization had nothing to do with the barricading of Parsons' 
compound, although he was aware of villagers' plans to do so.  Had 
he known, he added, that there were foreigners in the compound he 
would have tried to discourage the village from this course of 
action.  According to Alex, some sort of conflict was almost 
inevitable because the village had grown extremely frustrated with 
the local contractor.  The spark, he said, was a recent incident 
where villagers requested the use of Parsons vehicles to transport 
the local soccer team to a match.  Parsons turned down the request 
based upon USAID regulations that preclude use of USG-financed 
vehicles for such a purpose. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Local officials have played down the activity and tried to 
justify the actions of the villagers.  In a conversation with Medan 
Consulate staff on June 3 the Village Chief was unrepentant. 
Companies and NGOs operating in the area, he said, had an obligation 
to hire local workers. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Both the military and police are monitoring the situation 
closely.  Military, police, GAM, and local government sources 
contacted by Consulate Medan all agree that there was never any 
physical danger to Parsons staff.  Local police have, however, asked 
Parsons to register their foreign staff with police if they plan an 
extended stay in the area and have warned villagers of the 
illegality of their actions. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf expressed embarrassment at the 
incident when contacted by Consulate Medan.  He added that this type 
of action by villagers affecting outside organizations is occurring 
all too frequently in Aceh and is difficult to stop.  (NOTE: The 
June 3 action, however, is the first event in Aceh directly 
impacting American Citizens.  END NOTE.)  Irwandi promised to ask 
 
JAKARTA 00001083  002 OF 002 
 
 
for aggressive follow-up from Aceh Police Chief Rismawan.  He also 
expressed surprise the Village Chief may have been part of the 
action and promised to reprimand him and require a formal letter of 
apology.  Aceh Police Chief Rismawan told Consulate Medan on June 3 
that while the situation was resolved peacefully, he will instruct 
the District Police Chief to assess if there was any illegal 
intimidation or other improper behavior and to treat it accordingly. 
 Regional military commander Major General Supiadin told Consulate 
Medan that he conducting his own investigation, stressed the 
importance of getting the USAID-funded road built, and added that 
the incident represented another embarrassment for Aceh and 
Indonesia. 
 
 
HEFFERN