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FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9472
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS PRIORITY
RHHJJPI/USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
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RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 1971
RUEHPB/AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY 3873
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 4716
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2184
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 2806
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001311 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, PM 
NSC FOR E.PHU 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/07/2018 
TAGS: PREL MARR KNAR PGOV ID
SUBJECT: DEFMIN REVIEWS MIL-TO-POLICE TRAINING 
 
REF: A. JAKARTA 1278 
     ¶B. JAKARTA 749 
 
JAKARTA 00001311  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: DCM John A. Heffern, reasons 1.4(b+d). 
 
¶1.  (C) SUMMARY:  On July 2, the Ambassador asked Indonesian 
DefMin Sudarsono to reconsider the Defense Ministry's request 
that U.S. military forces cease providing counternarcotics 
training to the Indonesian police.  Sudarsono said he would 
review the matter.  The two also discussed U.S. assistance 
related to the establishment of an Indonesian National 
Defense University.  Sudarsono noted the installation of 
General Edhie Wibowo--brother-in-law to President 
Yudhoyono--as the new commander of the Army Special Forces 
(Kopassus) and characterized him as a reformer.  END SUMMARY. 
 
U.S. MILITARY TRAINING OF INDONESIAN POLICE 
 
¶2.  (C) The Ambassador met Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono 
on July 2.  Reviewing Sudarsono's April request that training 
of the Indonesian police by U.S. military forces cease (ref 
b), the Ambassador said he understood the reasons behind the 
Indonesian request that the training of police be done by 
civilian forces.  The Ambassador related that he had asked 
the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) to suspend such training and 
had informed Sudarsono of the suspension by letter in June. 
PACOM had subsequently asked that a counternarcotics exercise 
scheduled for the fall be able to proceed, for which planning 
would begin this summer.  The Indonesian police had also 
asked that the training resume. 
 
¶3.  (C) The Ambassador related that he had spoken to 
Secretary General Imron Cotan of the Department of Foreign 
Affairs (effectively the Deputy Foreign Minister) about the 
same issue a week earlier (see ref a) and Cotan had suggested 
that a few Kopassus (Army Special Forces) officers be 
included in the scheduled police training exercise.  The 
Ambassador said he had checked and found that legal 
restrictions on the assistance did not allow this.  The 
Ambassador further explained that the approach used by PACOM 
with Indonesia and other countries in the region was based on 
a template developed in working with America's Latin American 
neighbors to interdict narcotics production and trafficking 
in the Caribbean Sea region.  Alternatives existed, but they 
were not of the same quality as the training provided by 
PACOM. 
 
GOI PREFERS CIVILIAN TRAINING 
 
¶4.  (C) In response, Sudarsono said a key thrust of 
Indonesia's democratic reforms had been the principle of 
separating civilian and military forces.  He noted that the 
United States had supported such reforms.  Consistent with 
this, Indonesia wanted its civilian forces trained by 
civilian forces.  Sudarsono said he understood that PACOM had 
the skills and the funding to provide the training, but such 
a cross-force pairing was an anomaly for Indonesia. 
 
¶5.  (C) Sudarsono said he understood from his discussions in 
Washington in April 2006 that U.S. engagement with Kopassus 
required time.  That said, some in Washington still seemed to 
view Indonesia as it was ten years ago and allowed the 
"overhang of the past" to influence their views on Indonesia. 
 Several Indonesian military officers had been barred from 
attending peacekeeping exercises in Mongolia and Thailand, 
and Indonesians had been barred from other events due to 
requests from Washington. 
 
¶6.  (C) The Ambassador explained that concerns in Congress 
were really the focal point of the problem and that they must 
be addressed.  There were other problematic issues in the 
relationship, he pointed out, some of them more of Jakarta's 
doing.  Again, both sides needed to keep the focus on 
allowing the bilateral relationship to continue to improve. 
Clear signals must be given on both sides to avoid false 
 
JAKARTA 00001311  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
expectations. 
 
¶7.  (C) The Ambassador acknowledged that U.S. vetting 
requirements were difficult but expressed confidence that the 
difficulties eventually could be overcome.  Both sides should 
remain focused on the broader fact that the bilateral 
U.S.-Indonesia relationship was on a positive track.  Further 
cooperation at whatever level would be constructive and 
should be encouraged. 
 
SUDARSONO AGREES TO REVIEW MATTER 
 
¶8.  (C) Reviewing the options, the Ambassador said he could 
cancel all further counternarcotics training of the 
Indonesian police by PACOM but thought this would be the 
wrong decision.  He pressed Sudarsono to reconsider the 
reasons and said he would ask that the DATT contact Sudarsono 
in the following week for a final decision.  Sudarsono agreed 
to this request. 
 
NEW KOPASSUS CHIEF 
 
¶9.  (C) Shifting focus, Sudarsono related that General Edhie 
Wibowo, brother-in-law to President Yudhoyono, had been 
installed on July 1 as the new commander of Kopassus.  The 
change was part of the annual promotions that were currently 
working their way through the system (septel).  Sudarsono 
said Wibowo was committed to reform of Kopassus and had 
trained at Fort Bragg (prior to the imposition of U.S. 
sanctions in the 1990's).  Wibowo's father had been commander 
of Kopassus in the 1960s. 
 
NATIONAL DEFENSE UNIVERSITY 
 
¶10.  (C) Wrapping up, the Ambassador said he had received the 
Minister's proposal to create an Indonesian National Defense 
University modeled on NDU in Washington and wanted to see 
that vision become a reality.  Welcoming the Minister's 
request for U.S. assistance, the Ambassador said he wanted to 
be as helpful as possible.  He noted that several NDU 
administrators were slated to arrive in late July to start 
the process.  Sudarsono thanked the Ambassador for the 
assistance. 
 
HUME