VZCZCXRO0452
PP RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #1084/01 1560015
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 040015Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9185
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHHE/AMEMBASSY HELSINKI 0925
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2596
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE 3404
RUEHSM/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM 2085
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHHMUNA/USCINCPAC HONOLULU HI
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001084 
 
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 ParsonQs 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) ParsonsQ personnel immediately contacted the police 
and local officials after noticing the barricades.  The 
authorities arranged for a meeting of all parties to discuss 
the communityQs 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 ParsonsQ 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 
 
JAKARTA 00001084  002 OF 002 
 
 
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 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