Cablegate: Indonesia Passes Law On the Administration of Aceh

VZCZCXRO6364
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #8734 1931047
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 121047Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7130
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS IMMEDIATE
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS JAKARTA 008734

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MTS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL ID
SUBJECT: INDONESIA PASSES LAW ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF ACEH

1. Summary: The Indonesian National Parliament late on July
11 passed the long awaited Law on the Administration of Aceh.
The passage was welcomed by the Aceh Monitoring Mission,
which is meeting with the parties to the Memorandum of
Understanding of August 15, 2005 before offering its
assessment of the law. Post is examining the provisions of
the new law and will provide a more thorough analysis in the
near future. End summary.

2. The new Law on the Administration of Aceh was passed by
the Indonesian National Parliament (DPR) late in the day on
July 11 in Jakarta. All eleven parties in the lower house
approved the bill, indicating a broad consensus of support
within Indonesia as a whole, if not also within Aceh. This
consensus included the Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P),
which had been the most outspoken opponent of Acehnese
autonomy, and the United Development Party (PPP), which has
broad support within Aceh. Initial assessments by political
observers suggest that, while a range of constituencies and
NGOs remain dissatisfied with specific provisions of the law,
it is likely to stand and can serve as a basis for general
elections in Aceh later this year. The law will be formally
presented to the government of Aceh on July 13. President
Yudhoyono must sign the law within 15 days if he wishes to
endorse it; otherwise the law automatically takes effect
within 30 days of its passage. There have been a number of
contradictory statements about the law and its congruence
with the Memorandum of Understanding of August 15, 2005.
However, although the GAM has yet to discuss the law
formally, some GAM leaders have stated that the law is for
the most part consistent with the MOU.

3. The Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM) issued a brief statement
on July 11, shortly after the law,s passage, welcoming the
DPR,s decision as the product of a democratic process and as
a step furthering the peace process begun by the August, 2005
MOU. The AMM said that it plans to consult with the parties
to the MOU, including a meeting in Banda Aceh on July 12,
which was to be followed by a press conference.

4. We obtained a copy of the law ahead of its official
promulgation late on July 12 and will offer a more thorough
analysis of its contents, as well as its public reception, in
the near future.
PASCOE

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