INDEPENDENT NEWS

Cablegate: Darfur/Unamid -- Indonesian Stabilization Police

Published: Wed 18 Jun 2008 09:42 AM
VZCZCXRO2201
OO RUEHBC RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHDT RUEHGI RUEHHM RUEHJS
RUEHKUK RUEHLH RUEHPW RUEHROV
DE RUEHJA #1191 1700942
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 180942Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9326
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS PRIORITY
RUCNISL/ISLAMIC COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2658
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 1064
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 1026
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 1932
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2115
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 2755
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 2752
RUEHPT/AMCONSUL PERTH 0894
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHHJJPI/USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0908
UNCLAS JAKARTA 001191
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, PM, DRL, IO, IO/UNP
SECDEF FOR USDP/ISA/AP - P. IPSEN
PM FOR JENNIFER HANLEY
NSC FOR E.PHU
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL MARR PKO ID SU
SUBJECT: DARFUR/UNAMID -- INDONESIAN STABILIZATION POLICE
STILL WAITING TO DEPLOY
REF: JAKARTA 864
1. (U) This message is Sensitive but Unclassified -- Please
handle accordingly.
2. (SBU) SUMMARY: The planned deployment of one Formed
Police Unit of Indonesian National Police to Darfur is on
hold. The unit is reportedly ready for deployment but
bureaucratic issues must be addressed before the 140-strong
unit can depart for Darfur. It is estimated that the unit
will not arrive in Darfur until September at the earliest.
END SUMMARY.
3. (SBU) VISA PROBLEMS SLOW CAMP CONSTRUCTION: On June 17,
Fikry Cassidy, Deputy Director for International Security at
the Department of Foreign Affairs (DEPLU), told poloff
several hurdles needed to be overcome before the Indonesian
National Police (INP) could deploy a 140-member Formed Police
Unit (FPU) to Darfur. Cassidy said the government of
Indonesia (GOI) and the UN were still working to agree on a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to clarify the role and
responsibility of each organization participating in UNAMID.
He thought the MOU would be signed soon. However, the
Sudanese government had yet to issue work visas to the
construction crew of the Turkish contractor hired to erect
the FPU base camp in Darfur. The 10-member advance team from
the Indonesian FPU had also experienced visa problems, but
three were now in Darfur. The other seven were in Indonesia,
with visas but awaiting the arrival of the construction crew
in Darfur so that the Indonesian advance team could arrive to
supervise the construction of its FPU camp.
4. (SBU) SUPPORT AND SUPPLY ODYSSEY: Cassidy said the
Indonesian FPU was unlikely to deploy to Darfur until
mid-September. The unit's equipment and supplies were
currently at the Port of Sudan (located on the Red Sea), but
the overland transport from Port Sudan to Darfur
(approximately 2,100 miles) would take three months.
Equipment and supplies and a functioning base camp had to be
in place before the FPU could depart.
5. (SBU) LATEST IN A SERIES OF DELAYS: The INP had planned
to send the first tranche of it's FPU to Darfur in October
2007. That plan was delayed when the African Union troops
were ambushed in late September. After reviewing the
security situation in the region, President Yudhoyono signed
a Presidential Decree on February 6, 2008 giving permission
for the FPU to deploy in March. GOI budgetary constraints
then delayed the deployment to late May.
HUME
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