Defence and extradition deals good for ties

The Straits Times, April 25, 2007
By Azhar Ghani, Indonesia Bureau Chief In Jakarta, and Zakir Hussain

Analysts say Yudhoyono's standing will also improve but sound note of caution


INDONESIA's political players and observers have welcomed Monday's agreement on an extradition treaty and a defence pact between the two neighbours, saying this was likely to boost ties.

Many also believe the conclusion of the two deals would raise the domestic political standing of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Legislator Theo Sambuaga called the breakthrough in talks over the extradition treaty a 'significant step forward'.

Like many in Indonesia who spoke to The Straits Times yesterday, the chairman of the parliamentary commission for international affairs focused on the extradition pact and hardly touched on the defence cooperation pact.

Under an agreement between Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Dr Yudhoyono two years ago, the two pacts were to be concluded as a package with negotiations conducted in parallel.

The agreements will be inked in Bali by the foreign and defence ministers of both countries, and witnessed by Mr Lee and Dr Yudhoyono.

Noting that the extradition issue had been a thorn in bilateral ties spanning several administrations, Dr Theo said: 'We welcome the news as we've been waiting for this for a long time. The signing will benefit Indonesia's fight against graft.'

Indonesia sees the extradition treaty as vital to its anti-corruption efforts. Many in Jakarta believe that crooked businessmen and politicians hide and park their illegal gains in Singapore, although this has never been backed up.

Several observers sounded a note of caution, saying the full details of the agreements will be known only on Friday. Some pressed for them to be made available for legislators' scrutiny before the signing.

Lawmaker Abdillah Thoha, who chairs the Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Board, was quoted by online news portal detik.com as warning Jakarta not to be duped into signing agreements that would put Indonesia at a disadvantage.

Others, like international relations analyst Bantarto Bandoro, saw the deal as a sign that the top leaders were determined to keep ties on an even keel despite problems over issues such as the haze caused by wildfires from Indonesia, and, more recently, Jakarta's ban on land sand exports.

Mr Bantarto, who is from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta, noted that the deal was 'surprisingly quick', given the public pronouncements that hinted at the two-year-old talks becoming more protracted.

'Obviously there was a political will to end it from both sides,' he said. 'Obviously, the President would want to claim credit.'

The political boost for Dr Yudhoyono is timely, said political analyst Arbi Sanit from the University of Indonesia.

'It comes at the halfway mark of his term and at a time when he is under pressure to revamp an under-performing Cabinet,' he said.

'Securing the much-awaited extradition treaty will go down well with the people and provide him with renewed moral authority to face his critics.'

Analysts in Singapore welcomed the agreements even as they sounded a note of caution about their implementation.

'These new pacts will only signal two things: that ties are on a right track and there is commitment to enhance and deepen them further,' said Associate Professor Bilveer Singh of the National University of Singapore's (NUS) political science department.

'The devil is in the details and one needs to see how these have been resolved,' he added, noting, for instance, that both countries defined crimes like corruption and money-laundering differently.

'I will be totally surprised if these have been 100 per cent overcome as how the pact will be interpreted can create problems, mistrust and allegations of bad faith.'

Still, the fact that a treaty is ready reflects Singapore's commitment to opposing illegal financial transactions, he added.

Professor Soedradjad Djiwandono of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies said the absence of an extradition treaty had been a thorny issue for years. The pact was therefore 'a landmark agreement'.

'For sure, improvements in Indonesia's legal and judicial system and supporting institutions have to happen for the treaty to work effectively in prosecuting those who were corrupt,' said the former governor of Bank Indonesia - the country's central bank - who now teaches economics at the school.

'We should not be under any illusion that the treaty would automatically eradicate corruption. But it would support the effort against it.'

Associate Professor Eleanor Wong of the NUS Law Faculty said once an extradition treaty is in place, a country is obligated under international law to surrender a person whose case falls squarely within the terms set out in the treaty.

She explained that as rules of procedure and evidence may vary among countries, cases could be decided differently.

'So before any country is willing to agree as a general matter that it will extradite its citizens to another country, there is quite a lot that must be considered.'


ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AARON LOW