Cablegate: Constructive Visit by Prince Charles Highlights

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DE RUEHJA #2071 3150656
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R 100656Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
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UNCLAS JAKARTA 002071

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MLS, EAP/MTS, EUR/WE
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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL KISL SENV ID UK
SUBJECT: CONSTRUCTIVE VISIT BY PRINCE CHARLES HIGHLIGHTS
INTERFAITH DIALOGUE, ENVIRONMENT

1. (U) SUMMARY: In a five-day visit to Indonesia, Prince
Charles highlighted the importance of interfaith dialogue,
the environment and education. The visit was focused and
constructive, and well-received by Indonesians. END SUMMARY.

A ROYAL VISIT

2. (U) Prince Charles visited Indonesia November 1-5 at the
conclusion of an Asia tour that included stops in Brunei and
Japan. In Jakarta, the Prince met President Yudhoyono, Vice
President Kalla and a wide range of other Indonesian leaders.
He also visited Yogyakarta in central Java to hobnob with
fellow royal Sultan Sri Hamengkubwono X (who is also a
presidential candidate), and other Javanese aristocrats.
(Note: The Duchess of Cornwall, who had accompanied Charles
on his other Asian stops, did not join the Prince in
Indonesia.)

INTERFAITH DIALOGUE

3. (U) During the trip, Prince Charles highlighted the
importance of continued dialogue between the West and the
Islamic world. In Jakarta, the Prince held a roundtable with
Muslim leaders, including Din Syamsuddin, Chair of the
mass-Muslim organization Muhammadiyah, and other noted Muslim
scholars. The Prince also visited Indonesia's national
mosque in central Jakarta.

4. (U) In remarks at an Islamic school, the Prince praised
Indonesia's ethnic diversity and tradition of religious
tolerance. Prince Charles also pressed interfaith dialogue
in the educational realm. On behalf of HMG, the Prince
announced a cooperation agreement between Oxford University's
Center for Islamic Studies and the Indonesian Consortium for
Religious Studies at Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University.

THE ENVIRONMENT

5. (U) The Prince also highlighted environmental
issues--especially deforestation--in numerous meetings and
events. At President Yudhoyono's invitation, the Prince
delivered a Presidential Lecture on the environment before an
audience of Cabinet ministers, senior officials and other
Indonesian notables. Linking interfaith cooperation and
conservation, the Prince's speech discussed Quranic passages
that called on mankind to protect God's creation.

6. (U) Also on the environmental front, the Prince called
for the creation of an international agency to issue bonds to
fund forest conservation and other environmental projects.
British Embassy contacts subsequently told us this proposal
was the Prince's personal initiative and did not necessarily
reflect HMG policy. The Prince also visited a rain forest
protection project sponsored, in part, by HMG in Jambi
Province, Sumatra.

A SUCCESSFUL VISIT

7. (U) The visit was a success, sticking to a constructive
message on interfaith dialogue, the environment and
education. This was the Prince's first visit to Indonesia
since 1989 when he visited with Princess Diana. Prince
Andrew visited earlier this year in a trip focused more on
trade and investment.

HUME

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