Yeo says extradition talks with RI on track

Yeo says extradition talks with RI on track

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The governments of Singapore and Indonesia are making "good
progress" toward concluding an extradition treaty following the
first-ever technical meeting on the issue last month between the
two countries, Singapore Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo said
over the weekend.

"One bilateral issue that we are making good progress on is
extradition," Yeo said in a statement as quoted by AFP on Sunday.
"We hosted the first technical meeting from Jan. 17 to Jan. 18,
2005, which went well.

"Singapore has decided to conclude an extradition treaty with
Indonesia."

The comments came as President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is
scheduled to visit the neighboring island state on Tuesday and
Wednesday. Susilo had expressed optimism an extradition treaty
can be agreed upon during the visit, a condition some said could
help bring back graft suspects who have fled to Singapore to face
trial.

Yeo, however, said the treaty may take time. "Negotiating an
extradition treaty is complex... we cannot predict how long the
negotiations will take to complete," he said.

"The final document must be operationally workable and must
safeguard the interests of both sides."

Last week, Susilo said government officials negotiating the
pact have reported "very good" feedback from the Singaporean
authorities, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

"God willing, on Feb. 15, there will be a new step, a step
forward in how we will implement this cooperation in
extradition," Susilo said.

"Hopefully, during my visit, this matter which has already
taken such a long time, maybe 10 years without any progress, can
be settled."

The government of Indonesia has said such a pact is crucial in
its fight against corruption as it will allow the repatriation of
corrupt businesspeople who have fled to Singapore.

Indonesian officials had previously complained that Singapore
is dragging its heels because it does not want to lose the
billions of dollars allegedly deposited by those who have fled to
the city-state.

Yeo, however, warned that the extradition treaty alone would
not solve the corruption problem in Indonesia as graft suspects
may still flee to other countries.

"Recently, some Indonesian legislators and media have given
the misimpression that an extradition treaty will solve
Indonesia's problem of corruption. This is unrealistic," Yeo was
quoted by AP as saying.

"With or without an extradition treaty, fugitives, once they
leave Indonesia, can practically go anywhere in the world," he
said, adding that funds can be easily transferred electronically.

Yeo said although Singapore supported Susilo's antigraft
campaign, the city-state "cannot possibly become Indonesia's law
enforcer".

The Attorney General's Office announced plans last week to set
up a special government team tasked to hunt down graft suspects
who have fled the country particularly to the tiny but prosperous
state.

Officials said that the special team would immediately start
work once the government concluded talks on the extradition
treaty with Singapore.