Marty Natalegawa is a consummate diplomat. The Indonesian Foreign Minister is also his country’s former representative to the United Nations and Ambassador to the UK.

Marty Natalegawa: possibly the hope of the side against people smugglers.

At the age of 46 he has done more than most top diplomats do in an entire career. Now he’s the Foreign Minister.

On Tuesday this week I interviewed Marty Natelagawa in his Jakarta offices. In a long line of difficult issues between Australia and Indonesia, people smuggling has been the most awkward in recent months, so of course I had to begin our discussion on just that.

Specifically, the case of Sri Lankan asylum seekers who remain on their cargo boat off the port of Merak, four months after being intercepted by the Indonesian navy at the personal request of Prime Minister Rudd to President SBY.

Foreign Minister Natelagawa said recently, “we have to bring on board Australia’s engagement again” to resolve the issue.

He didn’t say it explicitly but the sub-text is clear, Australia can’t ask for Indonesian help to intercept a vessel like this then wash their hands of the problem.

Within weeks Australia’s Ambassador on People Smuggling was on Indonesian soil for talks, which were held late last week. When I spoke to the Minister his message was now a more positive one, not that Australia needs to “get back on board” rather “Australia has always been part of the solution”.

A post-graduate degree at Cambridge and a PHD from ANU under his belt, he is obviously a clever man and with his diplomatic experience he is well versed at how to extract what he wants with subtlety. Exactly what will break the impasse and what further Australia can do remains to be seen but Australian authorities have been left in no doubt that Indonesia does not want to be left alone in trying to resolve the standoff.

One of the many difficulties in dealing with people smuggling for Australia’s northern neighbour remains the fact that it is not a crime under Indonesian law.

In fact, the Captain of the boat that carried the Sri Lankans still sitting off the coast of West Java, the notorious Captain Bram, looks like he might escape with a fine despite the fact he’s arranged the passage of an estimated 1500 asylum seekers to Australia over the last decade.

On this issue the Foreign Minister is conciliatory and concedes it’s something Indonesia must deal with. Asked when there’ll be a change of law he said hopefully “sooner rather than later”.

Another complex problem for the Minister to manage as Indonesia and Australia try to combat the trade while being hampered by the lack of deterrence under Indonesian law.

Natalegawa is philosophical about the delays in achieving that deterrence through Indonesia’s nascent democracy but it’s also clear that is his preference. This is one of the complex balancing acts this man faces but for Indonesia it seems they could not have a better person in the job.

Beyond his qualifications he has the essential ingredient for a diplomat - pragmatism - acutely aware of the difference between what is ideal and what is possible.

- Kieran Gilbert is in Indonesia on a Government funded visit, as part of the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Liz O’Neill award for journalism.

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15 comments

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    • watty says:

      06:55am | 10/02/10

      Pleased Mr.Gilbert has found someone from Indonesia who may help clear up the travesty of Australia’s current immigration policies.

      One thing for sure ....Rudd and Senator Evans haven’t got a clue and the illegal migrant trade is flourishing boat whilst Rudd and Co dither.

    • WKH says:

      07:03am | 10/02/10

      I could think of much better things for our government to waste our money on than to fund a gravy train to Indonesia for journalists. Maybe this is payback for all the nice things you lot at Sky News have done for Krudds career. Jobs for the boys now we have free trips for the boys.
      That’s what I think anyway.

    • The Drover says:

      09:09am | 10/02/10

      The best ally that Australia can have to beat people smuggling would be for this government to get off its backside and start doing something to discourage it instead of running a ferry service to Xmas island. The trouble with Journos like Kieran is that they throw up their hands and would have us believe that this Government cant do much about it because the flows stem from “push factors”. Well the previous government had” push factors” to contend with but they virtually brought illegal boats to a stop. This latest wave has all to do with bad policy and bad governence but Kieran cant bring himself to admit that.

    • Luke says:

      10:01am | 10/02/10

      The best ally Australia should have against people smugglers is supposed to be the Prime Minister of Australia. Where is he on this issue?????? Special deals didn’t work, only made things worse. Although the Prime Minister can get away with saying there were no special deals for the Oceanic Viking asylum seekers. Rudd you are not telling Australians the truth. Here’s proof, reported in the Australian.
      “ASIO fast-tracked security checks on 78 refugees being held in Indonesia following the Oceanic Viking standoff, allowing the Rudd government to meet the terms of a special deal to resettle them within four to 12 weeks. “
      Kieran, how about you ask Rudd to explain himself.

    • Mr Subramanian says:

      12:02pm | 10/02/10

      Our revised asylum seeker policy is one of the reasons I’ll be voting for Rudd & Co this year - I much prefer our current approach to our previous one under Howard’s regime, it’s made me feel less ashamed to be Australian.

    • Andy says:

      12:33pm | 10/02/10

      Yeh, Rudds asylum seeker policy is working a treat. Christmas Island Detention Centre (the one Rudd told Australia was a waste of tax payers money) is full to overflowing, some are now living in tents, hope they’re cyclone strength.

    • formersnag says:

      01:01pm | 10/02/10

      Who cares whether its an offence in Indonesia? Catch people smugglers in Australian waters & prosecute them here.

    • SM says:

      02:18pm | 10/02/10

      Our greatest ally against people smugglers?  How about a government with some balls?

    • Beagle says:

      02:31pm | 10/02/10

      Sounds like you would prefer the liberals, all balls no brains.

    • SM says:

      03:11pm | 10/02/10

      @Beagle
      They certainly had the people smuggler issue better sorted than it is now

    • Beagle says:

      03:30pm | 10/02/10

      And now all they have sorted is the budgie smugglers

    • Beagle says:

      05:52pm | 10/02/10

      Yes, cause no people were smuggled into Australia while little Johnie was in power. But hey, the liberals certainly have the budgie smuggler issue sorted.

    • Ben says:

      06:12pm | 10/02/10

      “Beagle”, perhaps you were living under a rock for most of the time the Liberals were in power, but it’s a simple undeniable fact that they almost completely stopped people smuggling in its tracks.  In only the past 2 months we’ve had more boat arrivals than in the entire last 6 years of the Howard government, and we also had and still have one of the most generous intakes of refugees per capita in the world, a fact that’s often ignored when trying to paint Howard as anti-immigrant / refugee.

      Also just as a point of interest, wasn’t it julia Gillard who said at the time, even though the problem was all but stamped out, that “every boat of asylum seekers that arrives represents a policy failure”?

    • boat people? says:

      08:55pm | 10/02/10

      The ‘boat people’ are but a few.
      What about the 1000’s of others that do not come view a boat that fine their way on our land.  Funny how they have all the legal credentials, that are illegal by-the-way by the way.
      There are of our Australian people and in particular the children of Australian that are homeless, abused, lost and basically fallen through the society cracks and have perished. 
      I suggest to you that it would be an excellent report to put forward to the Australian public for all to know about.  It would be an excellent story indeed and a great challenge for any polly to take on, however, there is probably not enough money in it for them.  Oh but wouldn’t the press have an absolute ball spreading the news!!!!! It would most probably put to much pressure on the humble polly and too, too, much shame.

    • Anjuli says:

      12:13pm | 15/02/10

      I have watched the decline of society in the last 40 years of being in Australia where once we had law and order now we are slowly getting to an unlawful one .It seems the more people we get the more violent crime. Also infrastructure has not kept up with numbers,then there is the welfare payments this can’t keep pace with the population surely not when we have more of us pensioners coming onto their entitlements,after a life time of paying taxes.

 

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