VZCZCXRO0325
OO RUEHDT RUEHPB
DE RUEHJA #2015 3421106
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 081106Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4063
INFO RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS JAKARTA 002015 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, DS 
NSC FOR D. WALTON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM ASEC ID
SUBJECT: KEY ANTI-CORRUPTION OFFICALS REINSTATED AS 
ACTIVISTS GEAR UP FOR MORE RALLIES 
 
REF: JAKARTA 1967 AND PREVIOUS 
 
¶1.    (U) This message is Sensitive but Unclassified -- 
Please handle accordingly. 
 
¶2.    (SBU) SUMMARY:  The GOI has issued an order reinstating 
two key officials to their leadership positions on 
Indonesia's national anti-corruption commission.   The move 
comes after the Attorney General's office--in a marked climb 
down--announced last week that it will not pursue abuse of 
power-related charges against the two.  While cheering on 
these moves, activists are gearing up for major 
demonstrations marking December 9, International 
Anti-Corruption Day.  On the political defensive, the GOI has 
appealed for calm.  END SUMMARY. 
 
GOI REINSTATES KPK COMMISSIONERS 
 
¶3.    (SBU) There is some good news on Indonesia's volatile 
anti-corruption front--Corruption Eradication Commission 
(KPK) Deputies Chandra Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto went 
back to work December 8.  A December 7 presidential decree 
reinstated them on the heels of the Attorney General's 
announcement that the GOI will not pursue charges against 
them.  Chandra and Bibit were suspended from duty September 
21 and arrested after they were declared suspects in an 
alleged bribery and abuse of power scheme.  This sparked a 
public uproar amid accusations that the charges may have been 
fabricated (see reftels).  (Note:  Former KPK chief Antassari 
remains on trial on murder charges. As reviewed in reftels, 
the most prominent potentially-corruption related matter in 
Indonesia continues to be the Bank Century scandal which 
involves the alleged use of bank funds for political 
purposes.) 
 
ACTIVISTS PLAN PROTESTS 
 
¶4.    (SBU) Civil society has cheered on these moves. 
Activists, however, are far from satisfied with Indonesia's 
progress in combating graft.  In advance of December 9, 
International Anti-Corruption Day, NGOs are planning a series 
of rallies across the country to urge President Yudhoyono and 
his administration to fulfill his campaign promises to tackle 
corruption head on.  The major December 9 rally is slated to 
take place in downtown Jakarta.  Police do not envision 
mammoth rally attendance, but it does not take much of a 
crowd to precipitate a large-scale traffic tie-up in Jakarta, 
especially during monsoon season with its floods. 
 
¶5.    (SBU) Labor and student demonstrators gathered on 
December 8 in Jakarta to protest Yudhoyono's participation in 
the Asian Parliamentary Assembly in Bandung, West Java, 
saying that he should concentrate on cracking down on 
corruption.  There have been other relatively small rallies 
at sites across the country in recent days.  In a sign that 
Islamic groups are getting more engaged, the small, but 
influential Islamist organization Hizbut Tahrir (HTI) also 
held a rally on December 6 in Jakarta to call for stronger 
anti-corruption efforts and the implementation of sharia law. 
 A couple of thousand HTI supporters turned out for this 
rally.  Activists of all political stripes also continue to 
bombard social networking sites with anti-corruption messages 
(see reftels). 
 
GOI APPEALS FOR CALM 
 
¶6.    (SBU) The GOI and NGOs alike have urged civil society 
to conduct the demonstrations planned for December 9 and 
throughout the week in a peaceful mode.  To ensure security, 
the government has deployed some 14,000 police officers, 
nearly half of Jakarta's police force.  Governor Fauzi Bowo 
has announced that he will not allow protesters to stage 
demonstrations in certain locations which may spark serious 
traffic meltdowns.  President Yudhoyono--who has been on the 
political defensive over the anti-corruption issue--has 
publicly appealed to Indonesians to avoid allowing "political 
interests" to "hijack" international anti-corruption day. 
HUME