Mega wishes Jenkins happiness, good health

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta

President Megawati Soekarnoputri wished Charles Robert Jenkins and his family happiness before their departure for Japan on Sunday.

In a meeting with Megawati at her private residence in Kebagusan, South Jakarta, on Saturday, she expressed hope that Jenkins would receive better medical treatment in Japan.

"I hope you have a very good stay in Tokyo. I also like Japanese and Korean food. I hope your health improves," Megawati told Jenkins.

During the meeting Jenkins was accompanied by his wife Hitomi Soga and their two daughters Mika and Belinda. "Her name sounds like mine," Megawati said, referring to Jenkins' eldest daughter Mika.

Indonesia was chosen to facilitate a reunion of the Jenkins family, as Indonesia does not have an extradition treaty with the U.S. Jenkins allegedly defected to North Korea in 1965, and there are fears he may be extradited to the U.S. from Japan to face charges in the U.S. which considers him a deserter.

Jenkins and his daughters continued to stay in Pyongyang after Soga was repatriated to Japan in 2002. Soga was abducted in 1978 from the small island of Sado by North Korean soldiers and lived in North Korea up until 2002.

The family has stayed in Jakarta for a week, but due to Jenkins' deteriorating health, the Japanese government decided to take him to Tokyo for medical treatment.

After a five-minute meeting on the verandah of Megawati's house, the President and the Jenkins family went inside to have more private talks.

"In the meeting, Jenkins expressed his gratitude to the president and apologized for putting Indonesia in the middle of the problem that involved Japan, North Korea and the U.S.," one of Megawati's aides told The Jakarta Post.

Megawati replied that it was alright because Indonesia did this for humanitarian reasons.

Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirajuda said after the meeting that Jenkins would risk being sent home from Japan as Tokyo had an extradition treaty with Washington.

"There is such a risk, but I am sure that everybody wants to see the family happy," he said.

In Tokyo on Saturday, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Howard Baker said Washington may delay its request for Jenkins' transfer to U.S. custody because of his poor health.

"There are no plans for U.S. officials to see Jenkins in the immediate future," Baker said in a statement as quoted by AFP, while noting Washington "has the right to take Sergeant Jenkins into custody and will do so at the appropriate time".

Washington has viewed Jenkins as a deserter after he disappeared near the border between North and South Korea while on patrol in 1965. Japan would have a treaty obligation to hand him over.

Baker told senior officials of the Japanese ruling coalition that he believed Jenkins should turn himself in to the U.S. authorities and negotiate.