TIME TO INITIATE MLAT TALKS WITH INDONESIA

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
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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
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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

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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
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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
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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

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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