A Test Of The Australian and Indonesian Relationship...

The latest development in the Balibo Five case is sure to be a tester of the relationship between Australia and Indonesia. The latest development is that the Australian Federal Police (AFP) have decided to launch a war crimes investigation into the events surrounding the deaths of five journalists in the East Timorese township of Balibo. To be fair the enquiry must also include the execution of Roger East as well who was ultimately captured and executed on the foreshore of Dili.

It goes without saying that when the investigation became public knowledge that the Indonesian Department of Foreign Affairs did not respond positively. The Indonesians have considered this case a closed one pretty much from the time it happened. The response went along the lines of case closed and we will not be cooperating in any investigation.

Nevertheless, the AFP were between a rock and a hard place considering the findings of the 2007 NSW Coronial Inquest into the deaths which in essence concluded that there was a case to answer, at least for Yunus Yosfiah, and referred the matter to the AFP for investigation.

For Indonesia, and for many in Australia as well, the idea of letting bygones be bygones and focusing on developing a mutually beneficial relationship going forward is more important. Bygones can never truly be bygones until there is at least a sense that justice has prevailed. The Balibo Five and Roger East have not had any justice and neither have their families. In the end justice might in fact reveal that the Balibo Five were the unfortunate victims of an incident where they were caught in the crossfire between Indonesian and Fretilin troops. If that is the case, then so be it. However, if it turns out that the Balibo Five were the victims of an execution that was aimed at preventing them from getting the story of Indonesia's invasion of East Timor out to the world, then justice would entail that the perpetrators of the execution who remain alive must be brought to trial.

For me, there is no reason why a mature bilateral relationship between Australia and Indonesia cannot survive this investigation. The idea that the era of Soeharto has passed, which would seem pretty obvious now the man is dead, and that Indonesia is a different place to what it was in 1975, albeit true, does not hold water when it comes to justice. What happened in East Timor and the Balibo Five needs to be known, just because Soeharto is dead and Indonesia is a different place does not mean that the truth of these events should be swept under the carpet. The tribunals in Cambodia are testament to the need for justice to be given a chance.

In many ways there are arguments beyond just the Balibo Five that what occurred in East Timor, the now independent Timor Leste, were crimes of such a magnitude that an international tribunal is warranted. There are arguments to be made for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, Even though the genocide of the East Timorese might be debatable and may not be on the scale of the holocaust of the Jews during the second world war, a genocide is a genocide on whatever scale.

The allegations must be pursued until the truth is determined.

I will undoubtedly write on this subject again as it contains all the issues that are important to me both personally and professionally; Australia, Indonesia, and the pursuit of justice.

Indonesian and Malaysian Relations -- Part II

The Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia, Dato Zainal Abidin Zain, wanted the Indonesian press to write more favourable pieces on the goodness of Malaysians and their generosity to Indonesians on the whole. To this end, the Ambassador has decided he might have to force the Indonesian media's hand. He has attempted to do this by making a very public display of handing over financial compensation (or assistance packages) to former maids who were abused by their Malaysian employers.

One has to start somewhere.

Swine Flu In Indonesia...

It seems that Indonesia has recorded its first cases of swine flu or the H1N1. Both cases have been detected in Bali and it seems that the infected individuals are tourists. At least one of them resides in Australia. This has given Indonesia cause for concern that Australians are bringing swine flu to Indonesia through Bali.

This might be one for the conspiracy theorists and those on the House of Representatives Commission I on Defense, Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, Communications and Information, who might be inclined to do a little sabre rattling about how foreign interests are trying to undermine Indonesia.

As you can see, the US President is not taking any chances.

Manohara Odelia Pinot -- Part II

Here I was consciously not writing about the Manohara (photo courtesy of R. Berto Wedhatama / JP) case and I have now written two posts in a row on it. It is a fascinating story as there are so many parallel lines to pursue. For example, how much protection do Indonesian Embassies provide to Indonesian citizens resident overseas and in trouble or more specifically the lawyer for the prince withdrawing from the case and then publicly criticizing the intentions of his former client.

On the embassy front, the reality is that embassies will always be criticized for never doing enough. In this case, the Manohara vs. the Prince is in essence a domestic dispute that has escalated allegedly into violence. I would argue that the violence is extreme if it involves slashing of Manohara with razor blades. Nevertheless, as I noted in the first post, these are issues that will be adduced at trial and with, I am guessing, photographic evidence of the crimes / violence claimed.

However, and despite the protestations of Commission I of the House of Representatives, embassies are sometimes unable to provide the necessary assistance. Yusron Izha Mahendra, Chair of Commission I cites the example of abused foreign migrant workers, particularly maids, however most of this abuse remains unknown until such time as it can no longer be hidden; the migrant worker is so severely abused that they need medical attention or they die. At this point the embassy can really only facilitate the repatriation of the body and family members to and from the country concerned. And, assuming the family wants to take legal action, facilitate that as well by connecting the family to local legal representation.

This is not to say that the Indonesian Embassy's performance in this case was beyond reproach, to the contrary, however Manohara's allegations of being ignored by the embassy is her side of the story. It goes without saying that the Indonesian Embassy in Malaysia is going to have a different take on how the events transpired. Hopefully, there can be good come from this and the procedures can be tightened and improved so that any future occurrences can be better handled and resolved more quickly.

Interestingly, the latest statement from the Kelantan royal family is that Manohara's flight was not so much an escape from evil but an agreed return home. It would seem that some of Manohara's statements would seem to agree. Although, she has not backed of the abuse claims so it remains to be seen how this plays out in this respect. There is also some intrigue as there are claims that not only were Singaporean police involved but there was FBI involvement as well. The FBI involvement is presumably because Manohara retains US citizenship.

On the lawyer front. Todung Mulya Lubis, a highly respected Indonesian lawyer, has withdrawn his services as legal counsel to the Kelantan family. According to The Jakarta Post the reason was that "there was no will from the family to settle the problem amicably." Now, most people would be all for amicable settlements however this hardly seems to be a case where an amicable settlement is ever likely to be achieved in light of the serious charges being levelled at the Prince by his wife.

I wonder whether the public statements attributed to Lubis prejudice the case of his former client. I have no problem with a lawyer withdrawing their legal services when they no longer feel they can represent their client to the best of their ability. It is a different kettle of fish to withdraw your services and then go on the record that your former client has no intention of settling the case. This would seem to suggest that there is merit to Manohara's claims and that the best course of action is to pay out and be done with it. Perhaps The Jakarta Post selectively quoted Lubis and the above quote is not the sum total of what was said.

It would seem that an amicable settlement in this case would be agreement to a quickie divorce (which should not be any trouble) and a financial transaction in order that the aggrieved party feels like they have been taken care of (or their silence is paid for). An amicable settlement might be a good PR strategy, particularly when all signs are pointing to this dragging on and getting even messier in the weeks and months ahead.

Yet, it would be a sad day when domestic violence can be rectified with a swift transfer of funds. People who beat their spouses must not be allowed to get away with paying cash for their crimes. If the abuse is proved then they must be subject to the criminal penalties that apply. If the rich can pay their respective way out of crime then we as a community are moving further away from the ideal of equality before the law.

It seems that the idea of a settlement is intended to avoid any criminal prosecution for the alleged abuse. However, if the Prince maintains that he did not abuse Manohara then a criminal trial where Manohara would be called on to prove the abuse might be in the Prince's best interests. Once again, this assumes no abuse took place.

However, if there was abuse then a settlement agreement with watertight confidentiality provisions and a statement that admits no guilt, may in fact be a good option.

The idea that this is going to be a strain on Indonesian and Malaysian relations is a stretch. There are far more interesting happenings that are likely to strain the bilateral relationship like allegations that an Indonesian warship was within seconds of firing on a Malaysian warship in the area surrounding the contested waters of Ambalat.

The saga continues.