VZCZCXRO4511
OO RUEHDT RUEHPB
DE RUEHJA #1765 2931055
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 201055Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3629
INFO RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS JAKARTA 001765 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP 
NSC FOR D. WALTON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM ECON SENV ID
SUBJECT: INDONESIAN PRESIDENT STARTS SECOND TERM ON A 
POSITIVE NOTE 
 
REF: A. JAKARTA 01360 
     ¶B. 01727 AND PREVIOUS 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: A packed house of enthusiastic 
well-wishers watched as President Yudhoyono and Vice 
President-elect Boediono were sworn into office on October 
¶20. The inauguration was attended by five heads of state and 
special delegations from eight countries, including THE U.S. 
Presidential Delegation led by EPA Administrator Lisa 
Jackson.  President Yudhoyono began his second term by laying 
out his key goals for the next five years: improved 
prosperity, a stronger democracy, a corruption-free society 
and Indonesian global leadership on critical issues such as 
climate change and environmental protection.  END SUMMARY. 
 
FLAWLESS CEREMONY WAS WELL ATTENDED 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The Government of Indonesia worked hard to ensure 
that all went smoothly at President Yudhoyono and Vice 
President Boediono's inauguration and they succeeded. 
Seemingly hundreds of officials from the Parliament's 
protocol office were on hand to guide the guests through 
security checks and into their seats. Nearly every member of 
Parliament was there -- 647 of the 692 members -- as well as 
former President Habibie and former vice presidents Kalla and 
Try Sutrisno along with outgoing cabinet members. Thirteen 
foreign delegations attended, including heads of 
state/government from Australia, Singapore, Timor Leste, 
Malaysia and Brunei.  The U.S. Presidential Delegation led by 
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson 
included Ambassador Cameron Hume and Ambassador David 
Merrill. 
 
ONE NOTABLE ABSENCE 
 
¶3. (SBU) The only notable absence from the ceremony was 
former President Megawati Sukarnoputri, President Yudhoyono's 
 primary contender in the presidential race.  Her husband, 
Taufik Kiemas, received Yudhoyono's support in his recent 
successful bid to secure the position of Speaker of the 
People's Consultative Assembly. As speaker Kiemas presided 
over the ceremony and their daughter, a newly elected MP, 
attended the ceremony.  It was rumored that Taufik had 
promised Yudhoyono his wife would attend. Observers noted 
that her absence probably indicates that the party she leads, 
PDI-P, will not join the government. 
 
 
THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE: OUR GREATEST CHALLENGES LIE AHEAD 
 
¶4. (SBU) President Yudhoyono began his second term by 
extending the olive branch to his defeated competitors, 
saying that no one had lost because democracy in Indonesia 
was a victory for everyone. In a brief speech, he hit the key 
notes of his vision for Indonesia: improved welfare for the 
people; a stronger democracy and a just society. He vowed to 
encourage fair, inclusive economic growth, noting that 
Indonesia had weathered the global crisis by growing 4 % in 
the last two quarters. He emphasized that he is determined to 
protect people's human rights without sacrificing naitonal 
security.  Our greatest challenges, he stressed, lie ahead. 
 
INDONESIA TO BECOME A TRUE WORLD LEADER 
 
¶5. (SBU) President Yudhoyono promised his citizens that 
Indonesia would become a true world leader, with "a million 
friends and zero enemies" (see reftel).  Nodding to the 
foreign delegations, he proclaimed their attendance was a 
sign of Inodonesia's good bilateral relationships with their 
countries.  Indonesia would take the lead, he said, in 
climate change and environmental protection, continuing to 
negotiate for a solution before the December Copenhagen 
summit. Indonesia would also encourage global harmony and 
multilateral diplomacy through the UN and ASEAN and in 
implementing Millennium Development goals. At home, he is 
determined to protect people's human rights without 
sacrificing national stability. 
HUME