'No extradition without guilty verdict'
'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.