Cablegate: Facing Islamist Protesters, Miss Universe And

VZCZCXRO1779
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #2241 2280842
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 160842Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5812
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 1014
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 1655
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0672
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS JAKARTA 002241

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, INR/EAP, EAP/MLS, DS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KDEM KISL ASEC ID
SUBJECT: FACING ISLAMIST PROTESTERS, MISS UNIVERSE AND
ENTOURAGE CUT TRIP SHORT

1. (U) This message is Sensitive but Unclassified -- Please
handle accordingly.

2. (U) The reigning Miss Universe, Japanese national Riyo
Mori, recently visited Indonesia on a promotional tour.
After visiting Jakarta and making several planned stops at
venues in Bandung, West Java, she and her entourage were
forced to cut short their trip to the city on August 10
because of Islamist students who were holding a rowdy public
protest. The students asserted that the Miss Universe
contest was "immoral" and "against Islamic values."
Concerned about the protest, Mori canceled the rest of the
Bandung program and left Indonesia the next day.

3. (SBU) The actual rally in Bandung was relatively small.
Less than 100 protesters turned out in front of Mori's hotel,
most of them affiliated with a group called the
"Anti-Pornography and Anti-Porno Action Alliance." The
alliance includes the militant Islamic Defenders' Front
(FPI), the Islamic Youth Movement (GPI), and the Muslim
Students Action Union (KAMMI), a student organization closely
associated with the Islamist Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).
Police outnumbered protesters and there were no reports of
violence or arrests. According to Azfuari Azis, who helped
arrange Mori's trip on behalf of the Indonesian pageant, the
protestors carried signs demanding that Indonesia ban
pornography and one banner -- echoing Sukarno,s infamous
rejection of U.S. aid in 1963 -- stated a not particularly
catchy: "Go to Hell Miss Universe." He noted that while
Mori was never under any threat of violence, organizers
thought it best to cut her tour of Indonesia short.

4. (SBU) FPI and Allies Still Active: After effective
police action, the FPI's freedom of maneuver has gone down
over the years from the time when it used to launch local
"sweeps" meant to intimidate foreigners and force them to
leave Indonesia. The treatment accorded Miss Universe,
however, while rare (though also experienced by the
publishers of the Indonesian edition of "Playboy"), serves as
a reminder that the FPI and its allies are still active.

HUME

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