In from the cold?
In from the cold?
Jakarta, with its notorious traffic snarls, pollution and
tangled red tape, may not be the most likely place in the world
for a family drama, tinged with international intrigue, to meet
with a happy ending.
But yesterday, the arrival in the Indonesian capital of
American-born Charles Robert Jenkins, 64, put an end to nearly
two years of separation between him and his Japanese wife, Hitomi
Soga, 45, and their two daughters, Mika, 21, and Belinda, 19, and
awoke memories of a real-life saga that goes back almost half a
century to the Cold War era.
In 1965, Jenkins, then a 24-year-old American soldier
stationed in Korea, disappeared. He was abducted, as he
maintains, by North Korean agents while on patrol along the
demilitarized zone separating the North from the South. He was
brainwashed, he says, and told to help the North Koreans with a
variety of tasks, including making films for propaganda.
Washington, however, maintains that he deserted.
Soga's life story is even more dramatic. In 1978, when she was
only 19 years old, she was on a trip to Sado Island in her native
Japan when she was abducted by North Korean agents. From there,
she was taken to Pyongyang and held captive to teach North Korean
agents Japanese language and customs. It was there that she met
and married Jenkins.
In 2002, while Jenkins was still living a more or less
pampered live in Pyongyang, Soga's forced stay in the North
Korean capital came to an unexpected end when Japanese Prime
Minister Junichiro Koizumi successfully negotiated the release
and repatriation of Soga and four other Japanese abductees from
North Korea.
Jenkins and his two daughters, however, chose to remain,
fearing his arrest in Japan and consequent extradition to the
U.S. to be tried as a deserter.
Aside from the Jenkins-Soga family history, another
interesting angle to yesterday's reunion in Jakarta is the active
role Japanese authorities seem to be playing in the family's
reunion.
Hitomi Soga arrived in Jakarta on Thursday on a Japan Airlines
flight and was met by officials of the Japanese Embassy in
Jakarta at the airport, from where she was escorted by Indonesian
police to her hotel. The embassy even issued a circular to the
media, detailing which of the couple's activities were or were
not open to coverage.
As for the part played by the Indonesian government in hosting
the reunion, foreign ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa told
reporters on Thursday that he was happy the reunion could take
place. From the beginning, according to Marty, Indonesia had
looked at the issue as a humanitarian one and had worked hard to
realize the reunion.
Furthermore, he said, Indonesia appreciated that humanitarian
considerations "had proved to be capable of bringing together
even countries holding different political views".
Indonesia has no extradition treaty with the United States,
which is the very reason why Jakarta was chosen to host the
event.
The government, said Marty, had made sure that there would be
no objections to the reunion in Jakarta from any of the parties
involved -- Washington and Pyongyang in particular. "For this
reason, we can note that, in essence, the reunion is an
indication of the willingness to cooperate," he said.
Unfortunately, all goodwill notwithstanding, it looks for the
moment as if the closing chapter to this international,
interracial family saga remains to be written. Washington is
maintaining its insistence that Jenkins, a deserter, must not
escape punishment.
Or could this be part of the Bush administration's effort to
keep American veterans subdued pending the presidential election
later this year? Would it be possible for Jenkins to get an
official pardon from the next administration in Washington?
One can only speculate.
For the moment, however, it seems only proper that we
congratulate the Jenkins-Soga family on their safe reunion, and
wish them all the best for the future -- one which, we would
hope, extricates them from the diplomatic muddle and political
ping-pong that has so far determined the course of their lives.