Indonesian Speaker hails Singapore treaties

The Sunday Times, April 29, 2007
By Salim Osman, INDONESIA CORRESPONDENT JAKARTA


He is hopeful of ratifying the agreements on extradition and defence cooperation by this year

INDONESIA'S Speaker of Parliament Agung Laksono has welcomed the agreements on extradition and defence cooperation with Singapore, expressing hope that they could be ratified this year.

'If the drafts can be tabled in May, we can ratify them by this year,' he was quoted as saying by the Indopos Daily yesterday.

The extradition treaty sets out a list of crimes for which fugitives can be extradited from Singapore to Indonesia, and vice versa.

The defence agreement details the scope of cooperation between the Singapore Armed Forces and the Indonesian Defence Force, including the development of joint training areas.

Major Indonesian dailies yesterday gave prominent coverage to the signing of the agreements, highlighting remarks by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that both pacts were mutually beneficial to the two countries.

Media Indonesia yesterday quoted Golkar legislator Yudi Chrisnandy as saying that the legislature would support the pacts if they were presented to the House for ratification.

A member of the parliamentary commission on defence and foreign affairs, he said: 'Based on the substance of the pacts, the DPR (House of Representatives) will support the agreements and ratify them...so that in the case of the extradition of corrupt fugitives, we can start the process early.'

He said one key point in the extradition treaty that fulfils the demands of many Indonesians was the retroactive nature of the agreement, which went back 15 years, covering the scandals over the squandering of money for liquidation of banks.

On the defence agreement, he thought it was the best that could be achieved for the benefit of both sides.

Dissatisfaction over the agreements has also emerged from some quarters. Speaking to Koran Tempo, former National Assembly chief Amien Rais said he was particularly irked by an article in the defence pact which allowed Singapore to include a third party in its military training on Indonesian territory.

'Singapore will invite third parties such as the United States and Israel to participate in war games in Indonesia,' he said, alluding to the supposed threat to Indonesian sovereignty.

He wondered why Indonesia had agreed to have the two treaties negotiated in parallel and signed as a package, saying it was like 'lumping apples and durians in one basket'.

Some other observers focused on the perceived limitations of the extradition pact which is seen here as crucial to Indonesia's anti-graft drive. Economist Pande Radja Silalahi warned against high expectations that many alleged fugitives could be extradited, as both countries had different legal systems.

State Secretary Yusril Ihza Mahendra told Rakyat Merdeka daily that as a former justice minister, he had had a tough time trying to extradite fugitive Hendra Rahardja from Australia after Jakarta and Canberra signed an extradition pact. 'The man died before we could extradite him,' he said.

And anti-corruption activist Hari Prihandono underscored a widely held belief when he said that for the extradition treaty to be effective, there 'should be political will to prosecute corrupt officials'.