Cablegate: Lifting the Travel Warning for Indonesia: Making

VZCZCXYZ0005
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHJA #0995/01 1400916
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 190916Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9044
INFO RUEAWJB/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC

UNCLAS JAKARTA 000995

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR CA/ACS/OCS/EAP, EAP/MTS, DS/IP/EAP, DS/ITA/EAP
and DS/DSS/OSAC Carrington
DOJ FOR AAG SCHWARTZ

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CASC AEMR ASEC PREL AMGT ID
SUBJECT: LIFTING THE TRAVEL WARNING FOR INDONESIA: MAKING
OUR PUBLIC MESSAGE CONSISTENT

REF: Jakarta 955

1. (SBU) Per reftel, the Embassy would like to propose
new language to Country Specific Information (CSI) and
the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) Crime and
Safety Report. The suggested language is designed to
ensure that the security language in all our public
documents is consistent. We recommend that these changes
become effective simultaneously with the lifting of the
travel warning for Indonesia (possibly during the June 8-
9 visit of Attorney General Mukasey).

2. (SBU) DRAFT LANGUAGE FOR THE SAFETY AND SECURITY
SECTION OF THE COUNTRY SPECIFIC INFORMATION (CSI)

COUNTRY SPECIFIC INFORMATION

SAFETY AND SECURITY: Before October 2005, there were
several terrorist attacks in Indonesia with the most
recent occurring over two and a half years ago at a
beachfront restaurant in Bali that resulted in the deaths
of 20 people. Since 2005, the Indonesian police and
security forces have disrupted a number of cells and
arrested approximately 400 suspects linked with Jemaah
Islamiyah (JI), a U.S. Department of State-designated
terrorist organization. While Indonesia?s
counterterrorism efforts have been impressive, the threat
remains. As with most parts of the world, a terrorist
attack could occur with little or no warning. We have to
assume that JI networks and ?sleeper? cells remain intact
and have the capacity to go operational with little
warning.

There remains a continued threat of terrorist attacks,
demonstrations and other violent actions against U.S.
citizens and interests overseas including Indonesia.
Extremists may target both official and private
interests. Examples of such targets include high-profile
sporting events, residential areas, business offices,
hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, schools,
public areas and locales where Americans or foreigners
gather in large numbers. The Department of State urges
Americans in Indonesia to avoid crowds, maintain a low
profile, and be vigilant about security at all times.
Americans are advised to monitor local news broadcasts,
vary their routes and times in carrying out daily
activities, and consider the level of preventive security
when visiting public places in Indonesia. Americans
vacationing in Indonesia are advised to consider the
level of preventive security when choosing hotels,
restaurants, beaches, entertainment venues, and
recreation sites.

The U.S. Mission in Indonesia must approve U.S.
government employees? travel to the province of Papua and
travelers to that region must also obtain the approval of
the Indonesia government. Even though other areas of
Indonesia are not under any type of official U.S.
government travel restriction, the U.S. Mission requests
that official U.S. government employees inform the
Regional Security Officer of their intent to travel to
the provinces of Bandeh Aceh, Central Sulawesi and
Maluku.

American travelers and American residents are urged to
update their passports and important personal papers in
case it becomes necessary to depart Indonesia quickly.
Travel distances, poor communications, and an inadequate
health care infrastructure make it extremely difficult
for the Embassy to respond to U.S. citizen emergencies.
Many parts of Indonesia (including many tourist
destinations) are isolated and difficult to reach or
contact.

For the latest security information, Americans traveling
abroad should regularly monitor the Department of State,
Bureau of Consular Affair?s Internet site at
http://travel.state.gov, where the current Travel
Warnings and Public Announcements, including the
Worldwide Caution, can be found. Up-to-date information
on safety and security can also be obtained by calling 1-
888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada, or for
callers outside the U.S. and Canada, a regular toll-line
at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8:00
a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday
(except U.S. federal holidays).

The Department of State urges American citizens to take
responsibility for their own personal security while
traveling overseas. For general information about
appropriate measures travelers can take to protect
themselves in an overseas environment, see the Department
of State?s pamphlet A Safe Trip Abroad, which can be
found on-line at
http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/safety/
safety_1747.html.

3. (SBU) DRAFT LANGUAGE FOR THE POLITICAL VIOLENCE
SECTION OF THE OVERSEAS SAFETY ADVISORY COUNCIL (OSAC)
CRIME AND SAFETY REPORT

Political Violence

According to the most recent Worldwide Caution issued by
the State Department on January 17, 2008, there remains a
?continued threat of terrorist attacks, demonstrations
and other violent actions against U.S. citizens and
interests overseas,? including Indonesia. Indonesia is
an enormous and populous country with 240 million
inhabitants spread out over an archipelago consisting of
over 17,000 islands. Given its size and population, it
is not surprising that there is always the potential for
political violence and civil unrest due to ethnic,
sectarian, religious, and separatist reasons. The
security situation in Central Sulawesi is unsettled and
remains an area where religious and ethnic violence is
always possible. A small but persistent separatist
movement in Papua is also an area of concern. The Maluku
Islands, certain areas of Kalimantan and Bandeh Aceh,
also have the potential for civil unrest and political
violence due to ethnic, religious, and cultural reasons.
Travel to those areas by embassy employees requires
notifying the RSO.

Indonesia has not had a major terrorist incident since
October 2005. Past attacks in Jakarta and Bali are well
known and the fact that there have been no major
terrorist incidents during the past two years is
impressive. Recently, the United Nations Conference of
Parties (COP-13) on climate change was held in Bali.
Thousands of delegates from all over the world and
numerous world leaders descended on Bali for this
important conference. A major concern was the threat of
a terrorist attack. However, the Indonesian Security
Forces, through extensive planning and dedication of
resources, provided a safe and secure environment for an
incident-free conference.

Radical groups in Indonesia have had their ability to
carry out large attacks further diminished during the
past year due to the Indonesian government?s impressive
counterterrorism efforts. The Indonesian National Police
(INP) scored major successes in breaking up terrorist
cells linked to Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and other violent
Islamic extremist organizations. The government of
Indonesia (GOI) Attorney General?s office has also made
some significant strides toward conducting more efficient
and effective counterterrorism prosecutions despite
weaknesses in Indonesia?s anti-terror laws.

The newly-formed Attorney General?s Task Force on
Terrorism and Transnational Crime took the leading role
in handling the prosecutions of terrorists and won
several convictions. Other Indonesian legal institutions
also took a hard line against terrorists. The Supreme
Court rejected two appeals of the three men on death row
for carrying out the 2002 Bali bombings. These men will
be executed sometime in the near future and the Embassy
is closely monitoring what the reaction of the Indonesian
public will be. Additionally, the court upheld the life
sentence imposed on JI member Subur Sugiyarto. The
Ministry of Law and Human Rights announced that convicted
terrorists would no longer be given automatic sentence
remissions on major holidays. The GOI also made progress
to develop an effective anti-money laundering system for
investigations and prosecutions and froze terrorist
financial assets uncovered in investigations.

While Indonesia?s counterterrorism efforts have been
impressive, the threat remains. As with most parts of
the world, a terrorist attack could occur with little or
no warning. We have to assume that JI networks and
?sleeper? cells remain intact and have the capacity to go
operational with little warning. Moreover, Malaysian JI

operative and recruiter Noordin Mohammed Top remains at
large, despite his suspected involvement in nearly every
major terrorist attack in Indonesia since 2002. However,
the Indonesian security forces have proven their ability
to effectively counter the threat and are the main reason
there has not been a successful terrorist attack in
Indonesia since October of 2005.

HEFFERN

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