Enter the Afghan angle

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.