VZCZCXRO7090
RR RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #2071 3150656
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 100656Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0587
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 3264
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 1417
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0900
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 2409
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 5107
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2705
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 3246
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 3087
RUEHPT/AMCONSUL PERTH 1261
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHHJJPI/USPACOM HONOLULU HI

UNCLAS JAKARTA 002071 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MLS, EAP/MTS, EUR/WE 
NSC FOR E.PHU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL KISL SENV ID UK
SUBJECT: CONSTRUCTIVE VISIT BY PRINCE CHARLES HIGHLIGHTS 
INTERFAITH DIALOGUE, ENVIRONMENT 
 
¶1.  (U) SUMMARY:  In a five-day visit to Indonesia, Prince 
Charles highlighted the importance of interfaith dialogue, 
the environment and education.  The visit was focused and 
constructive, and well-received by Indonesians.  END SUMMARY. 
 
A ROYAL VISIT 
 
¶2.  (U) Prince Charles visited Indonesia November 1-5 at the 
conclusion of an Asia tour that included stops in Brunei and 
Japan.  In Jakarta, the Prince met President Yudhoyono, Vice 
President Kalla and a wide range of other Indonesian leaders. 
 He also visited Yogyakarta in central Java to hobnob with 
fellow royal Sultan Sri Hamengkubwono X (who is also a 
presidential candidate), and other Javanese aristocrats. 
(Note: The Duchess of Cornwall, who had accompanied Charles 
on his other Asian stops, did not join the Prince in 
Indonesia.) 
 
INTERFAITH DIALOGUE 
 
¶3.  (U) During the trip, Prince Charles highlighted the 
importance of continued dialogue between the West and the 
Islamic world.  In Jakarta, the Prince held a roundtable with 
Muslim leaders, including Din Syamsuddin, Chair of the 
mass-Muslim organization Muhammadiyah, and other noted Muslim 
scholars.  The Prince also visited Indonesia's national 
mosque in central Jakarta. 
 
¶4.  (U) In remarks at an Islamic school, the Prince praised 
Indonesia's ethnic diversity and tradition of religious 
tolerance.  Prince Charles also pressed interfaith dialogue 
in the educational realm.  On behalf of HMG, the Prince 
announced a cooperation agreement between Oxford University's 
Center for Islamic Studies and the Indonesian Consortium for 
Religious Studies at Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University. 
 
THE ENVIRONMENT 
 
¶5.  (U) The Prince also highlighted environmental 
issues--especially deforestation--in numerous meetings and 
events.  At President Yudhoyono's invitation, the Prince 
delivered a Presidential Lecture on the environment before an 
audience of Cabinet ministers, senior officials and other 
Indonesian notables.  Linking interfaith cooperation and 
conservation, the Prince's speech discussed Quranic passages 
that called on mankind to protect God's creation. 
 
¶6.  (U) Also on the environmental front, the Prince called 
for the creation of an international agency to issue bonds to 
fund forest conservation and other environmental projects. 
British Embassy contacts subsequently told us this proposal 
was the Prince's personal initiative and did not necessarily 
reflect HMG policy.  The Prince also visited a rain forest 
protection project sponsored, in part, by HMG in Jambi 
Province, Sumatra. 
 
A SUCCESSFUL VISIT 
 
¶7.  (U) The visit was a success, sticking to a constructive 
message on interfaith dialogue, the environment and 
education.  This was the Prince's first visit to Indonesia 
since 1989 when he visited with Princess Diana.  Prince 
Andrew visited earlier this year in a trip focused more on 
trade and investment. 
 
HUME