Hikmahanto Juwana, an international law expert, said in its written statement here on Tuesday that "if the extradition agreement would be settled there was no need for the two countries to conduct negotiations as what would be needed is only for Singapore to drop its demand for Indonesia to also ratify the defense agreement when ratifying the extradition agreement."
His statement came following Indonesia`s invitation to Singapore for continuing the discussion on the extradition agreement made on Tuesday.
Hikmahanto said negotiations on the extradition agreement had been finished and the agreement had even been signed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong themselves at Tampak Siring palace in Bali in 2007.
"The agreement however is not yet effective because Indonesia has not ratified it," he said.
He said Indonesia had not ratified it because Singapore had asked Indonesia to also ratify the defense agreement known as Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) when ratifying the extradition agreement.
"At that time the DCA was considered by many quarters as harming the Indonesian interests. As a result an outcry emerged from the public. The public does not like seeing fugitives being swapped with sovereignty," he said.
The public outcry, Hikmahanto said, has made the government to cancel its intention to submit the bill on the ratification of the extradition and defense agreements between Indonesia and Singapore to the House of Representatives.
(A017*G003)
Editor: Ella Syafputri
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
