TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Jokowi to talk with Aquino on Veloso's execution
President Joko âJokowiâ Widodo is set to hold a short talk with Philippine President Benigno Aquino on the sidelines of the 26th ASEAN Summit on Monday amid the latterâs plan to appeal for mercy for Philippine death row inmate Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso who, along with eight other drug convicts, is to be executed on Nusakambangan Island, Central Java
Change Size
P
resident Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo is set to hold a short talk with Philippine President Benigno Aquino on the sidelines of the 26th ASEAN Summit on Monday amid the latter's plan to appeal for mercy for Philippine death row inmate Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso who, along with eight other drug convicts, is to be executed on Nusakambangan Island, Central Java.
The 'pull aside' meeting is set to be held during a coffee break at the regional summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, according to Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi.
However, Retno said Indonesia would maintain its stance, saying the executions were part of the country's measures to deter rampant drug offenses amid a drug emergency.
'I believe Indonesia has been consistent with what we had conveyed since the beginning,' Retno said late on Sunday evening in Kuala Lumpur. 'We [always] explained about the emergency situation regarding drug offenses, we explained about our legal system, we explained about the legal proceedings that have been completed.'
Retno later added that the matter was more a law enforcement issue as Indonesia has its own legal sovereignty.
'Don't assume that we do this with pleasure. No, we do not do this happily. But, this needs to be done since it is a matter of law enforcement,' she said. 'If we do not carry out a stern measure, the future of Indonesia will be at stake.'
Aquino was quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying recently: 'Once I am there, I will try to speak to President Joko Widodo of Indonesia to appeal once more for her case'.
Philippine Vice President Jejomar Binay made an appeal for Veloso during a visit to Indonesia to attend the Asia-Africa Conference Commemoration in Jakarta last week, while Veloso has sought a second case review but to no avail.
Veloso is on a list of nine death row convicts, mostly drug traffickers, for a second batch of executions to be carried out by the Jokowi administration. (++++)
