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RI resolute on death policy
Dismissing outcry over the executions of five foreign nationals convicted of drug crimes, the government remains committed to applying capital punishment to the crime of drug trafficking
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Dismissing outcry over the executions of five foreign nationals convicted of drug crimes, the government remains committed to applying capital punishment to the crime of drug trafficking.
Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said the government demanded that countries respect Indonesia's firm stance against narcotics due to the rampant spread of drug abuse in the country.
She said the government had rejected an appeal from Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who has requested clemency for two Australian citizens, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, both convicted drug traffickers.
'I have replied to the letter and explained that Indonesian policy was about law enforcement against serious drug crimes,' Retno said.
She said she hoped the denial would not hamper diplomatic ties between Jakarta and Canberra, which have become strained on several occasions over the past few years.
Australia is still seeking clemency for the two convicts, both of whom were involved in the 'Bali Nine' case, where in 2005 the Indonesian government foiled the attempted smuggling of a large quantity ofheroin from Indonesia to Australia. On Sunday at midnight, the Indonesian government executed six drug traffickers, five of whom were foreign nationals.
Brazil and the Netherlands have recalled their envoys to Indonesia to protest the killing of their citizens.
Regarding the diplomatic fall-out, Retno said Indonesia had 'never been hostile' to other countries.
'We will maintain communication, and that we are friends with anyone and we are ready to improve bilateral ties,' she added. 'We also want others to see it clearheadedly ' that this is a serious issue affecting the lives of Indonesian people'.
Data from the Attorney General's Office (AGO) recorded that between 2004 and 2014, 64 drug traffickers were put on death-row, seven of whom were executed.
Last December, President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo rejected requests for clemency for the 64 drug traffickers currently on death row.
Regarding the remaining drug convicts on death row, Attorney General M. Prasetyo said his office would first study whether or not the death sentences were final and binding.
'If all legal processes have been finalized, we will enforce [the execution].'
Prasetyo said that filing clemency requests was the final stage of the legal process, adding that foreigners might also be on the list of the second round of executions.
On Monday, Bishop said that she would not rule out recalling Australia's ambassador to Jakarta if Indonesia moved ahead with the execution of its two citizens. 'I won't [...] speculate as to what would happen should the Indonesian government carry through its threat to execute Australians. What we will continue to do at this point is make representations where we can, how we can,' she said as quoted by Reuters.
University of Indonesia (UI) international law expert Hikmahanto Juwana said the executions would not hamper diplomatic ties with other countries and that the government should neither fret nor change its policy.
'The recalls should be perceived as an expression of their objection to our death penalty execution policy. However, I believe they understand that they cannot interfere in [domestic] policy,' he said. 'Such recalls serve as responses for public demand in their own countries, a similar demand our people make when our citizens face beheading abroad.'
Ganewati Wuryandari, an international relations expert from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said the executions were unlikely to hamper relations with other countries in the long term. She considered the international backlash a normal hiccup that was part of a typical dynamic between countries.
'I believe [the recalls] are temporary, but Indonesia's [tough policy] may affect other domestic politics in the sense that any country will protect its interests, just as how Indonesia deals with migrant workers on death row,' she said.
