VZCZCXRO6834
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #2492/01 2850909
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 120909Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1188
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS IMMEDIATE
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA IMMEDIATE 9998
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON IMMEDIATE 1074
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RHMCSUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RHHMUNA/USCINCPAC HONOLULU HI IMMEDIATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 012492 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR L/LEI AND EAP/MTS 
DOJ FOR OIA ROBINSON/WARNER/ROWAN, CTS THORNTON, AAG SWARTZ 
DOJ FOR OPDAT ALEXANDRE/LEHMANN/CRAWFORD 
FBI FOR ETTIU/SSA ROTH 
MANILA FOR COLE 
BANGKOK FOR SONDERBY 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2016 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PCRM KTIA KJUS ID
SUBJECT: TIME TO INITIATE MLAT TALKS WITH INDONESIA 
 
REF: A. JAKARTA 9443 
     ¶B. JAKARTA 11889 
 
Classified By: Political Officer Adam West for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (C) We believe it is in the U.S. interest to initiate 
Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) talks with Indonesia. 
These negotiations could then be announced in connection with 
the upcoming POTUS visit to Indonesia (para 10).  Conclusion 
of an MLAT agreement would strengthen the growing ties 
between our respective law enforcement institutions and 
facilitate greater cooperation in areas such as 
counterterrorism, anti-narcotics trafficking, anti-corruption 
and money laundering.  Although previous discussions 
regarding a MLAT were aborted in 2001, changes in the legal 
and political environment, particularly since the 2004 
election of President Yudhoyono and his government's 
increased emphasis on the fight against terrorism, 
corruption, and drug traffickers have brightened prospects 
considerably.  An Oct. 5 meeting between regional DOJ 
attaches reconfirmed GOI officials' strong interest in moving 
forward.  The enactment of the Law on Mutual Legal Assistance 
in Criminal Cases in March, the recent completion of an MLAT 
among ASEAN members (Indonesia has yet to ratify) and between 
the GOI and Hong Kong, and the creation of the AGO's 
Terrorism and Transnational Crime Task Force are important 
manifestations of Indonesia's desire to take international 
legal cooperation to a new level.  In addition, the 
Indonesian Attorney General underlined this in a late August 
meeting with the Ambassador.  End Summary 
 
The Case for Moving Forward 
--------------------------- 
 
¶2. (C) We believe that the negotiations with Indonesia on 
establishing an MLAT should be started as quickly as possible 
and that agreement to negotiate should be announced on the 
occasion of the POTUS visit to Indonesia.  The time is ripe 
for such talks since an MLAT is an achievable goal that fits 
well with our needs for greater cooperation on legal issues. 
We would both be better able to obtain responses to our 
requests and respond to Indonesian requests for assistance as 
they tackle increasingly seriously the myriad of 
transnational and domestic crime problems that they face.  It 
will strengthen our ability to help them in the many areas in 
which we have a strong interest:  counter- terrorism, money 
laundering, trafficking in persons, and narcotics.  Over the 
last year, the establishment of a Resident Legal Adviser 
office and the permanent staffing of a Legatt office has 
allowed us to assess even more carefully Indonesian abilities 
to implement an eventual MLAT.  With our continued 
engagement, we believe the Indonesians are ready for that 
additional responsibility. 
 
¶3. (C) C-175 authority to negotiate a MLAT with the GOI was 
originally granted in 2000.  In 2001, the Embassy recommended 
against moving forward in light of political conditions at 
that time.  By 2006, however, the political environment has 
significantly changed.  Since the election of President 
Yudhoyono in 2004, there have been major strides in the fight 
against terrorism, a major expansion of anti-corruption 
arrests, and closer cooperation in the fight against 
narcotics.  The government has been taking important steps to 
improve the quality of the police and prosecutors.  This has 
been particularly reflected in the effective counterterrorism 
work that they have been doing. 
 
¶4. (C) Coinciding with our interest, the Indonesian emphasis 
on anti-corruption and counter-narcotics in particular have 
led to an increased focus by responsible GOI officials on 
MLATs as a mechanism for both collecting evidence against 
suspects and instituting forfeiture proceedings against 
ill-gotten gains held outside the country.  Indonesia has 
long-standing MLATs with Australia and China, and in recent 
years has drafted agreements with South Korea (2002), the 
 
JAKARTA 00012492  002 OF 003 
 
 
ASEAN collective (2004 - ratification pending), and Hong Kong 
(2006 - ratification pending).  Indonesia has extradition 
treaties with Australia as well as a number of ASEAN 
countries.  Attorney General Saleh stressed the value of this 
increasing international cooperation in a meeting with the 
Ambassador on August 30. 
 
Indonesian Officials Support Opening Negotiations 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶5. (SBU) GOI representatives again expressed their interest 
in opening negotiations on a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty 
(MLAT) to US DOJ Regional Attaches Christopher Sonderby and 
Jeffrey Cole at an informal meeting on October 5.  The 
meeting was chaired by the Secretary to the Deputy Attorney 
General for Supervision, Sudibyo Saleh, and was attended by 
representatives from the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, 
the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security 
Affairs and the Attorney General's Office (AGO).  During the 
meeting, GOI officials expressed their belief that conclusion 
of a MLAT would improve cooperation across a wide spectrum of 
law enforcement activities, including counterterrorism, 
anti-narcotics, anti-corruption, and money laundering cases. 
They expressed confidence that GOI authorities would have the 
capability to deliver the various types of evidence that U.S. 
law enforcement officials were likely to request, including 
records of financial transactions and telephone and cell 
phone records.  Both sides agreed that it was essential to 
design cooperation mechanisms that would enable them to 
respond to requests for information quickly. 
 
¶6. (C) The Legal Department of the AGO subsequently 
identified three areas in which a MLAT would assist the GOI 
in providing cooperation to the USG.  First, the presence of 
an MLAT would mean that the Foreign Ministry would be less 
involved in the processing of individual requests, reducing 
the potential for bureaucratic or other forms of delay. 
Second, assistance from Indonesian courts could be obtained 
more readily with an MLAT.  Third, forfeiture of assets 
within Indonesia would become more feasible. 
 
MLAT Legislation Provides a Foundation 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Reflecting its growing interest in cooperation and 
sharing evidence in criminal cases, Indonesia passed 
comprehensive Mutual Legal Assistance legislation in March. 
This MLA legislation provides a legal foundation for the 
forms of cooperation which would be contained in an MLAT and 
names the Ministry of Law and Human Rights as the central 
authority for administering MLA requests.  At the time of the 
law's passage, DOJ noted that it was a good step towards 
greater cooperation but, along with the UN Office on Drugs 
and Crime (UNODC), identified some potential shortcomings in 
the legislation in the areas of search and seizure and 
witness immunity, among others, which should be addressed 
during any potential MLAT discussions. 
 
New Offices Can Facilitate Cooperation 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Overall, cooperation between U.S. and Indonesian law 
enforcement continues to improve.  In August, a permanent FBI 
Legal Attache arrived in Indonesia, after a series of 
rotations by personnel on shorter tours, usually on loan from 
other offices, who reported to Legatt Singapore.  It is 
expected that we will add an Assistant Legal Attache (ALAT) 
position by year's end.  The successful establishment of a 
permanent Legatt office here reflects the belief within the 
FBI that cooperation with Indonesian law enforcement is of 
growing strategic importance.  Their presence will 
substantially facilitate the satisfaction of MLA requests by 
providing a point of contact within the Embassy. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Another new institution which could prove useful in 
the context of an MLAT is the AGO's Terrorism and 
Transnational Crime Task Force.  Created with the help of 
$750,000 in ESF funds, the Task Force is devoted to 
 
JAKARTA 00012492  003 OF 003 
 
 
prosecuting significant terrorism, money laundering, 
trafficking-in-persons (TIP) and cybercrime cases (ref A). 
Since its inauguration two months ago, the Task Force is now 
involved in the prosecution of 21 defendants, including the 
Jemaah Islamiyah-linked individuals charged with beheading 
three Christian girls in Poso and defendants in Semarang 
accused of assisting fugitive terrorist mastermind Noordin 
Top (ref B).  The Task Force would be a useful institutional 
partner in ensuring continued development of bilateral and 
international law enforcement cooperation. 
 
¶10. (C) Action request:  Expedited Departmental approval by 
the end of October of the principle of opening is necessary 
in order to complete preparations with the GOI, including an 
exchange of letters of intent or other appropriate bilateral 
agreement to proceed, in time for the POTUS visit.  We could 
then ensure that plans to initiate negotiations are included 
in the joint statement by the two governments during the 
visit. 
PASCOE