Enter the Afghan angle

By David T. Hill

MURDOCH, Western Australia (JP): It's a political truism "down-under" that Australia's stability and security is inextricably linked to that of Indonesia. Fortunately, it is a fundamentally solid relationship that most long-time observers in both countries believe is comprehensive and textured enough to weather the periodic storms that naturally engulf two neighbors.

It is difficult to foster and feed the kind of balanced, equal relationship that can sustain us into the future. It is a relationship that constantly needs work from whatever governments are in power.

Events like Australian Prime Minister John Howard's inept handling of the 430 mostly Afghani people on the Norwegian freighter, Tampa, in the oceans between us highlighted the discomfort felt in some Australian government quarters with Indonesia.

That Howard would announce preemptively that he had rung President Megawati Soekarnoputri, even before he actually managed to speak personally with her was unfortunate. That she chose not to return his phone call left him looking snubbed.

The visit by three senior Australian ministers this week is clearly an attempt to mend fences and try to fashion a common stance on the issue of people smuggling. The Howard government wants to salvage the appearance of a mutually beneficial collaboration with Indonesia on the issue.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer's statement earlier this week that "It's very important that Australia, Indonesia as well as other countries work in a cooperative way to find an international solution to this problem" makes sense. But singling out the people smuggling issue in isolation from the broader Australian-Indonesian relationship seems poor diplomacy. It sets up negotiations to fail unless Indonesia sees some benefit in acting as a "first line" against a flow of refugees from the Middle East heading for Australia.

Media commentator Paul Kelly was correct in observing in the Australian newspaper last week that "There is a serious risk that the Howard cabinet's handling of this situation has made Indonesian consent far less obtainable." Reports that the Australian ministers were hoping to press Indonesia to extradite people-smugglers to Australia, where they face a maximum 20-year jail term, would seem unlikely to be warmly received. It will be hard for Indonesia to respond wholeheartedly to Australian invitations now.

Part of the problem is that the Howard government's dealings with Indonesia appear premised upon an implicit criticism, whatever might be stated explicitly. The sub-text assumes Indonesia is not doing the right thing.

Foreign Minister Downer is consciously seeking to counteract this. Hence, his assertion over the Tampa incident that Indonesia was also a victim of the people-smuggling trade and that "The Indonesian government is not being blamed [by Australia]."

Faced with a possible impasse on the issue, a circuit breaker may well be needed, to refocus attention away from the immediate area of friction, from hurt feelings, and "megaphone diplomacy" as Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda reportedly dubbed it.

Just as the major flow of refugees alarming the Howard government appears to be coming from Afghanistan, so too does Afghanistan unwittingly offer a fresh angle which may enhance Indonesian-Australian diplomatic collaboration.

While the focus in Indonesia and Australia had been on the Tampa's Afghani passengers, the Australian media has also been reporting on the fate of two Australian aid workers, Diana Thomas and Peter Bunch, who have been detained in Kabul for more than four weeks now. The two Australians were working in Afghanistan with the Christian charity organization, Shelter Now. Together with four Germans, two Americans and 16 Afghanis, they were arrested on suspicion of the crime of spreading Christianity.

Despite intense diplomatic overtures by Australian, German and American consular officials, the fate of the detainees remains unclear. The envoys were initially assured by the Taliban officials that the aid workers would be tried in an open court, according to Muslim syariah law, with access to legal defense. When the trial in the Supreme Court opened on Tuesday, however, it was behind closed doors without even the presence of the foreign defendants, let alone any legal counsel.

Australia appears to be without friends in Afghanistan. Together with the German and American envoys, Australian consul Alastar Adams has been barred from entering the Supreme Court and rebuffed by Chief Justice Mawlawi Noor Mohammad Saqib. Adams was quoted as saying "we have been kept completely in the dark about the trial, which we understand has started. We have been waiting patiently for more than a week and none of the Taliban officials have responded to our pleas."

The defendants face a grave future. Chief Justice Saqib reportedly told the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press that "We will give them punishment according to Islamic law, whether imprisonment or hanging."

Impeded by a justice system that appears opaque and impenetrable, Australia may well appreciate offers of assistance.

Indonesia has a wealth of expertise in syariah law. There is a strong tradition too within the Indonesian legal profession in support of human rights law. It is a tradition honed over many decades in a legal system not always transparent. Indonesia may be able to offer Australia what it so seriously now needs: legal experience in syariah law with an appreciation of human rights, and a willingness to intercede with an offer of good offices.

If such help were to be offered, not under any duress, and without rancor or resentment, it may be a timely intervention. Both countries would be equal partners in seeking an internationally recognizable standard of human rights justice. Such an offer may also enhance Indonesia's own image as a internationally responsible adherent to the values of human rights, justice and equality before the law.

The writer is Professor of Southeast Asian Studies at Murdoch University, Western Australia.