T

he government has maintained its commitment to comply with the law on carrying out the death penalty for drug convicts.

A top government official has signaled that the country might start executing no more than 10 Indonesian drug convicts on death row this year although human rights campaigners'€™ opposition to capital punishment remains.

'€œIt may be [this year]. And, should it be carried out, it will be Indonesians. Speaking about when [the executions will be], let'€™s see,'€ Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan told reporters in Bandung, West Java, on Friday.

Declaring that the country is facing a '€œdrug emergency'€, President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo has called for a stronger fight against drug abuse, including by executing death-row convicts and has rejected clemency pleas for convicted traffickers. The government has repeatedly said that up to 50 people die every day because of illegal drugs.

According to Luhut, economic stability, a reason previously used to delay a third set of executions, was no longer an issue.

He, however, stopped short of commenting about why the plan would likely exclude foreign drug convicts, saying only that as Indonesians lived in the country, they may have been on death row for longer than foreign convicts.

Luhut dismissed speculation over pressure from foreign countries despite the fact that two previous rounds of executions have sparked intense international debate.

The plan was first highlighted by Luhut during a public lecture in Bandung on Friday where he addressed the importance of fighting drug abuse.

Last week, however, the minister said the government was yet to decide on whether it would execute drug traffickers this year, adding that the country would focus more on improving the economy in upcoming months. He has also said that authorities had to consider very carefully when to use the death penalty because of public opposition to capital punishment.

More than 162 death-row inmates are currently awaiting their fate, 73 of whom have been convicted of murder and 89 of drug trafficking. According to the Attorney General'€™s Office (AGO), the list excludes terrorist inmates.

Indonesia'€™s move to put to death 14 drug convicts in two rounds of executions last year '€” comprising Indonesians and foreigners, including from Australia and Brazil '€” sparked criticism from domestic and international human rights campaigners.

Late last year, both Luhut and Attorney General M. Prasetyo signaled a delay on a third round of executions. They said Indonesia would not carry out a third round of executions until the country was out of the current economic slowdown. Prasetyo also said that another round of executions could trigger an international outcry, which could derail Jokowi'€™s campaign to fix the economy.

Critics have said that such on-and-off policy would create uncertainty.

Wahyudi Djafar, a researcher with the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM) called on the government to consider imposing other measures in line with principles of restorative justice, and abolish capital punishment in the country.