'No extradition without guilty verdict'

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Vice President Hamzah Haz said on Thursday that Indonesia would not extradite Indonesian terror suspects to Singapore without sufficient proof of their guilt, and added that there was no extradition treaty currently in place.

Singapore has accused several Indonesians of being linked to worldwide Islamic terror networks and has reiterated that it wanted those currently in Indonesia to be extradited.

"We will not extradite our nationals without any proof that they are guilty, furthermore there is no extradition treaty between two countries," Hamzah said before a Cabinet meeting.

Hamzah was commenting on a recent statement by Singapore's Home Affairs Minister Wong Kang Seng that Singaporean and Indonesian officials have been discussing issues relating to the extradition of a number of Indonesians accused by Singapore of being members of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist group.

Singapore said it had evidence that JI, led by Muslim preacher Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, was part of the al-Qaeda terrorist network and earlier this year was found to have planned a huge bombing spree in the city-state.

Spokesman of Foreign Affairs Ministry Marty Natalegawa said earlier that he would not confirm whether or not the two countries had discussed the possibility of extraditing alleged Indonesian terrorists.

He did admit, however, that Indonesia and Singapore had discussed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on extradition.

Seng's statement surprised government officials who have been trying to secure an extradition treaty with Singapore since 1986.

Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra said he was surprised by Seng's statement as it was the first time Singapore expressed a willingness to discuss such a treaty.

Yusril said Indonesia had already asked the Singaporean government four times to extradite Indonesian businessmen who had fled to Singapore after misusing Bank Indonesia liquidity funds for ailing banks, and other Indonesians involved in money laundering and corruption.

Unfortunately, Singapore did not want to meet the Indonesian government's demand, he said.

"I wonder why Singapore suddenly wants us to have an extradition agreement with them?" Yusril asked.

There was a strong indication that Singapore had given protection to Indonesians alleged to have committed crimes such as money laundering, he added.

Nevertheless, Yusril welcomed the request and expressed the hope that it would be discussed further to cover not just terrorism but also corruption offenses.

He said Indonesia was interested in bringing home economic criminals who were now in the city-state.

"We need the treaty because we suspect that many people who have committed economic crimes have fled to Singapore," he told journalists at the State Palace.

The minister also said Indonesia had more to gain from the extradition treaty because the country was trying to get the economic criminals back home.

However, the Singapore government failed to disclose whether or not it was willing to include economic crimes in the extradition treaty with Jakarta.

Hamzah reiterated that the absence of a treaty hampered the law enforcement efforts in Indonesia because many economic criminals had sought a safe haven in Singapore.

"This is not a matter of whether we agree or not in handing over these people, but a matter of regulations and procedures," he added.

Singapore arrested 13 Indonesians for alleged links with al- Qaeda based on its Internal Security Law which allows arrest without legal process.

The country has also accused Singaporean citizen, Mas Selamat Kastari, a member of JI, of planning to hijack a commercial plane and crash it into Singapore's Changi Airport.

Kastari is alleged to be currently living in Indonesia.