VZCZCXRO9802
RR RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #1081/01 1550948
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 030948Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9179
INFO RUEAWJB/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2053
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 5099
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2590
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 4642
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 001081
STATE FOR EAP/MTS, EEB/IFD/OIA, INL BARCLAY
DOJ FOR AG MICHAEL MUKASEY
DOJ FOR CRIM AAG SWARTZ
DOJ/OIA FOR WARNER/ROBINSON
DOJ/OPDAT FOR ALEXANDRE/LEHMANN/JOHNSON
MCC FOR AMBASSADOR DANILOVICH AND MORFORD
DEPT PASS USTR FOR AMBASSADOR SCHWAB
TREASURY FOR IA - BAUKOL
USAID FOR ANE/AA WARD
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KJUS KCOR ECON ID
SUBJECT: Scenesetter for Attorney General Mukasey visit to
Indonesia
JAKARTA 00001081 001.2 OF 003
1. (SBU) Summary: Department of Justice assistance programs are
essential to Indonesia's continued democratic development. Over the
past ten years of its democratic transition, Indonesia has worked to
establish the laws, institutions, and procedures for sustained
governance reform and rule of law. The Department of Justice is
partnering with Indonesia on many fronts: counter-terrorism,
anti-corruption, criminal procedure reform, asset forfeiture,
trafficking in persons, environmental protection, and overall
investigative and prosecutorial capacity. Our partnership has
yielded concrete results -- terrorists arrested and convicted,
millions of dollars in illegal logs seized, major meth labs closed
-- advancing U.S. strategic interests and improving governance in
Indonesia. The Attorney General's trip to Indonesia underscores the
importance of our growing partnership on law enforcement and rule of
law. End Summary.
Institutional Overview and DOJ Components in Indonesia
--------------------------------------------- ---------
2. (SBU) Functions exercised by the Department of Justice in the
U.S. are divided among several institutions in Indonesia. The
Indonesian National Police (INP) is primarily responsible for
investigations. The Attorney General's Office (AGO) handles
prosecutions in ordinary cases in the general courts and is
authorized to investigate corruption cases. The Corruption
Eradication Commission (KPK) leads high-level investigations and
prosecutions, and presents its cases in a specialized
Anti-Corruption Court. The Ministry of Law and Human Rights is
responsible for developing justice sector legislation,
administration of the prisons, and serves as Indonesia's central
authority for mutual legal assistance requests.
3. (SBU) Four different DOJ components are helping to advance the
rule of law in Indonesia. DOJ/ICITAP Indonesia is developing the
operational and organizational capacity of the police through
technical assistance, training, and limited equipment donations to
augment the police's transition to be a professional democratic law
enforcement organization. DOJ/OPDAT is establishing terrorism and
transnational crimes and corruption task forces at the AGO.
Partnering with the Ministry of Law, OPDAT assists with drafting
laws, including a new criminal procedure code and asset forfeiture
law. FBI/Legat Jakarta provides operational and developmental
support to the police in the areas of counterterrorism, corruption,
and transnational crime. DOJ's Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA), represented out of U.S. Embassy Singapore, provides
operational support and training to the police and the National
Narcotics Bureau. Joint Inter-Agency Task Force (JIATF)-West also
provides infrastructural development, technical assistance, and
training in partnership with DEA.
Counter-Terrorism Partnership Produces Results
--------------------------------------------- -
4. (SBU) Security has objectively improved in Indonesia since the
spate of terrorist attacks in 2002-2005, although a weakened
regional terrorist organization Jemaah Islamiyah continues to exist.
Over the last six years, Indonesia has arrested and convicted over
250 terrorists - including three Bali bombers who currently await
execution. Police Chief General Sutanto, a top-flight reformer, is
establishing a professional police force that manages internal
security, particularly CT efforts. The FBI has quietly worked with
the police and provided operational support on CT and transnational
crime. The OPDAT-supported AGO Terrorism and Transnational Crimes
Task Force has successfully prosecuted the last 43 terrorists
arrested, including 26 JI members, in less than two years of
operation.
Governance Reform: Institutionalizing the Rule of Law
--------------------------------------------- --------
5. (SBU) When President Suharto stepped down in 1998, rule of law
JAKARTA 00001081 002.2 OF 003
was weak and patronage characterized governance. Reform of law
enforcement institutions and their procedures has been a cornerstone
of DOJ programs to support rule of law in Indonesia. Behind the
scenes, ICITAP programs have led to fundamental reforms at the
police, such as a reorganization of the criminal investigative
division and the adoption of a use of force policy. OPDAT has
assisted in drafting a comprehensive new Criminal Procedure Code
that moves Indonesia from a confession-based inquisitorial system
towards an evidence-based, adversarial approach. These DOJ programs
have improved law enforcement capacity and promoted greater
prosecutor-police cooperation.
Anti-Corruption Reform: Steady Progress
---------------------------------------
6. (SBU) President Yudhoyono has made combating corruption his top
priority. The Corruption Eradication Commission, an independent
government body established in 2004, has prosecuted high-profile
cases and coordinates government-wide prevention strategies. Funded
by the US Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Threshold Program,
ICITAP is purchasing multi-million dollar electronic surveillance
equipment for the KPK, which enables the GOI to gather electronic
evidence for corruption prosecutions more effectively. OPDAT and
DOJ's Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section are assisting in
developing an asset forfeiture law to permit non-conviction based
(in rem) forfeiture of assets and seek the return of proceeds of
corruption that have been moved overseas. The AGO is also a
critical piece to the anti-corruption reform movement due to its
nationwide reach and institutional strength. The Attorney General's
visit will provide the opportunity to announce the creation of an
elite Anti-Corruption Task Force within the AGO, which will be
supported by OPDAT and modeled after the successful Terrorism and
Transnational Crimes Task Force.
Preserving an Environmental Superpower
--------------------------------------
7. (SBU) Indonesia is home to the world's greatest marine diversity
and the second greatest terrestrial diversity in the world after the
Amazon. However, illegal loggers are rapidly destroying much of
Indonesia's virgin forest. Illegal forest fires set to clear land
have also contributed to Indonesia being the world's number three
carbon emitter. ICITAP's marine police project has provided the
police with 15 high-tech boats through a U.S. Trade Representative
(USTR) negotiated agreement. The INP has used the boats in their
first year to seize $4 million illegally harvested logs, as well as
catch human traffickers. OPDAT is working with DOJ's Environment
and Natural Resources Division to conduct illegal logging workshops
for police and prosecutors.
Trafficking In Persons: Progress in Strategic Hot Spot
--------------------------------------------- ---------
8. (SBU) Due to economic conditions, limited police capacity and
porous borders, Indonesia has long been a major source country for
trafficking in persons. Systemic change is improving the
trafficking situation. In 2007, Parliament passed a comprehensive
anti-trafficking in persons (TIP) law, with OPDAT providing
assistance in the drafting and current implementation of the law.
ICITAP has established the internationally recognized Point of
Origin strategy, which has trained several hundred police as well as
NGO leaders in vulnerable TIP areas to provide communication between
TIP victims, NGOs, and police. This technical assistance and
training have resulted directly and indirectly in the dismantling of
several trafficking organizations, numerous arrests, and hundreds of
women and minors being rescued from trafficking.
Sustaining Indonesia's Commitment to Governance Reform
--------------------------------------------- ---------
9. (SBU) The Department of Justice efforts are not alone. Indonesia
JAKARTA 00001081 003.2 OF 003
has the largest MCC Threshold Program, including $35 million in
anti-corruption programs, which works with the court, the KPK, and
other "rule of law" agencies. The State Department's Anti-Terrorism
Assistance (DS/ATA) program provides operational training for
Indonesia's anti-terrorism unit. USAID and other Embassy components,
along with the Australian and other embassies, are also working to
transform Indonesia's judicial and law enforcement institutions.
10. (SBU) All of this progress throughout Indonesia's democratic
transition adds up to a major success story. Yet, much remains to
be achieved. Indonesia is still developing its governance
architecture and results are only now starting to materialize. A
sustained U.S.-Indonesian partnership to promote regional stability
and rule of law is essential to Indonesia's continuing democratic
development. The Department of Justice programs are a critical
element of our bilateral relationship and have led to tangible
progress in developing the laws, institutions, and practices for
democratic rule of law in Indonesia.
HEFFERN