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India keeps up pressure for release of Polaris chief

By P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE Dec. 19. Even as the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, weighed the option of speaking directly to the Indonesian President, Megawati Sukarnoputri, the Indian diplomatic mission in Jakarta today intensified its efforts to secure the release of two executives of India's high-profile software industry from police custody in Indonesia.

India's Charge d'Affaires in Jakarta, Amar Sinha, met Indonesia's Chief Protocol Officer, Djoko Hardono, for the second successive day to discuss the issues at stake.

Mr. Sinha later noted that the Indonesian authorities seemed to appreciate the point that commercial disputes such as the one involving the Artha Graha Bank in Jakarta and the Chennai-based Polaris Software, whose executives were being held in police custody, should be treated as commercial matters (as distinct from criminal cases). Mr. Sinha said he remained optimistic of securing the release of the two Indian nationals in the context of the friendly relations between the two countries.

The status quo, with two executives of a "sunrise industry'' of the "new economy'' remaining in custody in Jakarta for six days, has begun attracting attention across other South East Asian countries.

Parallels are being drawn with a case involving Canadian entrepreneurs in Indonesia several years ago.

Political observers in the region see the Polaris Software issue as something that Indonesia should settle quickly in order to sustain the confidence of foreign investors.

The point being made in the region is that Indonesia, already reeling under the impact of the recent terrorist strike in Bali, cannot afford to drag its feet on a sensitive issue such as that involving these Indian nationals, it is said.

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