VZCZCXRO5129
PP RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #1131/01 1620717
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 100717Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9246
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHHE/AMEMBASSY HELSINKI 0927
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2626
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE 3406
RUEHSM/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM 2087
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHHMUNA/USCINCPAC HONOLULU HI
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001131 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
AIDAC 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MTS, INR/EAP 
DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS AID 
USAID FOR ANE/EAA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL ECON SOCI ID
SUBJECT: Aceh Update on Budget, Elections, and Law Enforcement 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary.  The Aceh yearly budget for 2008 was passed by 
the provincial legislature on May 30, narrowly avoiding costly 
sanctions for late submission threatened by the central government. 
Less progress has been made in passing the provincial political 
party law, where additional delays may disrupt preparation for 
Aceh's April 2009 legislative elections.  A joint law enforcement 
operation purported to be acting against illegal loggers resulted in 
claims of destruction of houses and property near a village in North 
Aceh Regency May 30-31.  End Summary. 
 
Budget Finally Complete 
----------------------- 
¶2.  (U) The Aceh Provincial Budget (APBA) for 2008 was approved by 
the Acehnese provincial legislature (DPRA) on May 30 and submitted 
to the Ministry of Home Affairs on June 2, more than 8 months after 
it was due.  Although the year is nearly half over, the budget 
forecasts expenditures of approximately USD 885,000,000 in 2008. 
Passing of the budget is a major, positive step after months of 
sometimes acrimonious wrangling between Governor Irwandi Yusuf and 
the legislature.  The passage of the APBA for 2008 on May 30 avoids 
by one day the imposition of approximately USD 15 million in 
penalties threatened by the central government if the budget was not 
submitted by the end of May.  After it has been approved by the 
Ministry of Home Affairs, the budget will be reviewed by the Finance 
Ministry.  Representatives of the provincial government and 
legislature were in Jakarta the week of June 2 to defend the budget 
with the Ministry of Home Affairs. 
¶3.  (SBU) The 2008 budget is nearly twice as large as the 2007 
budget; due primarily to Aceh's receiving a bigger slice of 
government revenue as part of the province's special autonomy 
legislation.  Many observers question the province's ability to 
spend these funds effectively with slightly more than half of the 
year behind them. Governor Irwandi Yusuf is more optimistic, telling 
Consulate Medan that in 2007 the final budget was not approved until 
the last quarter of the year, leaving the government only two months 
to liquidate its budget.  This year, he said, he hopes to have 
nearly six months. 
 
Worries about the 2009 Legislative Election 
------------------------------------------- 
¶4.  (U) Aceh's Independent Election Commission (KIP) announced on 
June 2 that it cannot announce the results of the verification 
process for local parties because the provincial law (qanun) on 
political parties has not yet been passed by the Aceh Parliament. 
According to KIP chairman Abdul Salam Paroh, KIP must wait for the 
final text of the qanun before it can publish the six procedural 
rules for party and candidate registration and verification.  For 
the legislative elections, the verification process is constrained 
by a tight timetable set by the Central General Election Commission 
in Jakarta (KPUP). KIP Vice Chairman Ilham Syahputra told media on 
May 30 that KIP has asked for extra time from Jakarta election 
officials to verify the eligibility of 12 local parties and numerous 
national parties but that KPUP refused saying any delay in local 
elections in Aceh could adversely affect the schedule for 2009 
national elections. 
Joint Law Enforcement Action courts Controversy 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
¶5.  (U) On the evening of May 30 a joint law enforcement action 
against illegal logging near the village of Alue Dua in the Nisam 
Antara sub-district of North Aceh District resulted in the 
destruction of property and reported shooting of livestock.  Press 
reports state that warning shots were also fired into the air. 
Multiple sources including representatives of the Indonesian central 
government, local officials, local witnesses, and media reports 
agree that several huts were burned, four motorbikes were damaged by 
fire, and one buffalo was found dead. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The destruction caused by the operation has been condemned 
in public statements by both representatives of the Aceh Provincial 
Legislature (DPRA) and the GAM successor organization, the KPA.  In 
addition, the Jakarta representatives to the Aceh Peace Process, the 
Forum for Communication and Coordination (FKK) sent their deputy, 
Zainal Arifin, to the Nisam Antara sub-district from June 5-6 to 
investigate the incident. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Despite the loud condemnation of the incident, local 
government officials and law enforcement personnel indicate that the 
 
JAKARTA 00001131  002 OF 002 
 
 
event may not have been as serious as initially feared.  Medan's 
contacts in the police confirmed that that a joint police-Ministry 
of Forestry law enforcement operation took place on May 30-31, but 
insisted that it was carried out to stop illegal logging operations. 
 They also confirmed most reports of the destruction of property. 
Both the Vice Regent of North Aceh and the Village Chief near where 
the law enforcement action occurred expressed sympathy for the 
locals affected by the action but admitted that villagers had been 
logging the areas in question to clear farmland.  The problem, they 
added, was that there were no guidelines about how community land 
clearance activities are affected by the Aceh-wide ban on illegal 
logging. 
 
HUME