Indonesian to Join US Activists in First Peace Delegation to Cuba

Jakarta Globe, Jan 26, 2015

US flags are seen in a bici-taxi near the capitol in
Havana on Jan. 23, 2015. (AFP Photo/Yamil Lage)

Jakarta. US-based peace activist group Codepink will be leading a delegation of 150 people — including an Indonesian participant — to Cuba to mark the recent thaw in US-Cuba relations, particularly the easing of travel restrictions.

Timed to coincide with Valentine’s Day, the “To Cuba With Love” delegation will include a number of renowned activists and leaders from peace and justice movements, environmental groups, women’s  rights organizations, as well as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) advocacy groups.

Indonesian activist Tunggal Pawestri will be the only representative from Asia to join the delegation.

“I’m jumping on this opportunity to reach out to the Cuban people and its government,” Tunggal said.

She added that she was anxious to exchange ideas on issues critical to Indonesia, including women’s rights, health care, environmental sustainability, poverty reduction and LGBTQ rights.

“I believe that Indonesia has a lot to learn from Cuba, especially its legendary health care system,” said Tunggal, who has been active in advocating for the rights of the archipelago’s minority groups, including its LGBTQ community.

The multinational delegation will have the opportunity to conduct high-level meetings with government officials; visit members of the Cuban Five, Cuban intelligence officers who were incarcerated in the United Stares in 1998 and recently released; speak with doctors working to combat Ebola in Africa; meet with entrepreneurs concerning new business opportunities; and interact with local residents to discuss the Caribbean nation’s cultural, economic, environmental, educational, agricultural and health care issues.

The delegation includes a number of activists who have been involved with Cuban-US issues for years by protesting the Guantanamo Bay prison and the US-led economic embargo, and by calling for an end to travel restrictions.

Some, including Codepink co-founder Medea Benjamin, have had their passports confiscated and bank accounts frozen for their efforts.

“It’s so exciting that after 50 years, the US government is finally beginning to lift the ridiculous restrictions on our right to visit our Cuban neighbors,” Benjamin said.  “We look forward to the day when all restrictions are lifted.”

Kalla Flies to Saudi Arabia to Pay Respects to King Abdullah

Jakarta Globe, Jan 24, 2015

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, center, arrives at Heathrow Airport in west
London, in this Oct. 29, 2007 file photo. (Reuters Photo/Dylan Martinez)

Jakarta. Vice President Jusuf Kalla flew to Jeddah on Saturday to pay his respects to late Saudi Arabian king Abdullah bin Abdul Azis.

“The Vice President will also congratulate Crown Prince Salman as the new Saudi Arabian king,” said the vice president’s spokesman, Hussein Abdullah.

Kalla flew to Jeddah on Saturday morning accompanied by his wife, Mufidah Jusuf Kalla, and Minister of Religious Affairs Lukman Hakim Saifuddin using the presidential plane from Halim Perdanakusumah airport.

Hussein said Kalla’s visit to Saudi Arabia was an official order from President Joko Widodo.

Kalla and his wife are also scheduled to perform a minor hajj pilgrimage or Umrah during their visit to Saudi Arabia.

Indonesia is lobbying Saudi Arabia to increase its hajj quota for Indonesian pilgrims after the limit was reduced by 20 percent to accommodate reduced capacity while the Grand Mosque in Mecca underwent renovation works.

Indonesia wants Saudi Arabia to transfer other countries’ unused allocations to enable more people from the world’s largest Muslim-majority country to go on Islam’s most sacred pilgrimage.

Jusuf Kalla may also advocate on behalf of the 45 Indonesians awaiting execution in the kingdom. The 45 are mostly female domestic workers, and serious questions have been raised about the legitimacy of many of their criminal convictions.

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Direct Elections ‘Bring Democracy Back’ to Indonesia

‘People’s Victory’ The House has ratified the emergency government regulation that restores direct elections of regional leaders

Jakarta Globe, Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Yustinus Paat,Jan 21, 2015

Ministers and other members of House Commission II after signing the perppu
 in to law. All parties in the House have committed their support to direct elections,
 though all but the Democratic Party have argued for some revision.  (Antara Photo/
Akbar Nugroho Gumay)

Jakarta. The House of Representatives on Tuesday ratified into law an emergency government regulation that restores direct elections of regional leaders in Indonesia.

The ratification quickly drew praise from analysts who said that Indonesia’s democracy was back on track.

“It’s a people’s victory,” said Arie Sudjito, a political expert from the Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta.

In September, the House agreed on a proposal put forward by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s government to give local legislative councils the power to appoint district heads, mayors and governors, ending nearly a decade of direct elections.

The move sparked anger from people across the country, accusing the House and Yudhoyono of betraying the people, and claiming Indonesia’s democracy had returned to a system similar with that of Suharto’s totalitarian New Order regime.

Many also feared the opposition would dominate the regional leaders posts because they dominate most of the legislative councils, opening the possibility for them to block any policies by President Joko Widodo, who at that time was declared the president-elect by the General Elections Commission (KPU) after he defeated Prabowo Subianto in a tightly contested  national election.

After seeing the public anger, Yudhoyono backpedaled, saying that he never wanted indirect elections as his Democratic Party had proposed as a revision to the existing system of direct elections.

He quickly proposed an emergency government regulation, known as perppu, while declaring that indirect election law was scrapped.

“Now, the perppu has become a law. So we can begin direct elections in many regions across the nation,” Arie said.

But the KPU would not be able to make preparations for some 200 local elections, set to be held simultaneously this year, as nine of the 10 factions at the House demanded some changes in the newly passed law.

“Each faction has presented its views, which in general accepts the perppu to be ratified into law,” said Rambe Kamarul Zaman, chairman of the House Commission II, which oversees home affairs.

Rambe was referring to the government regulation in lieu of law passed by former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during his last days in office.

The perppu annulled the 2014 regional elections law, which eliminated regional elections and instead provided authority for local legislatures to appoint governors, district heads and mayors.

However, Rambe said that most factions have urged for some changes to the new law.

“We will propose a bill, drafted by House Commission II, which will improve the new law pertaining to candidate eligibility, stages of elections and public hearings, among others,” the Golkar Party politician said.

The Democratic Party, chaired by the former president, was the only party that opposed any revision arguing the law is already perfect.

“We don’t want any more revisions. The regulation itself already contains enough substance on the direct regional election system and revisions from the previous law. It already includes suggestions to make the elections better,” Commission II member Saan Mustopa, a Democrat, said on Tuesday.

Moreover, making revisions will take time and Indonesia needs the new law immediately, Saan added, as more than 200 local elections are set to be held this year.

The process of preparing more changes will affect the preparations for local elections, he stressed.

“It will be difficult for the KPU to do its job,” the politician said.

Last year, parties from the opposition Red-White Coalition, including representatives of the National Mandate Party (PAN), the Golkar Party and the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), voted in favor of abolishing regional elections.

But their stance changed after the Democratic Party announced that it would be  leaving the bloc.

All 10 factions at the House on Monday expressed their commitment to ratify the perppu. House Speaker Setya Novanto called on Commission II members to expedite the drafting of the new bill and conclude the ratification process before the House sitting period ends on Feb. 18.

“I have asked each faction to conclude the revision during this sitting period so they would not disrupt the simultaneous regional elections schedule,” said Setya, who is also a Golkar politician.

Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker Fadli Zon, of Gerindra, said the revision would not change the substance of the newly passed law. He added that the changes “are very technical.”

Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo said the government was open to revisions and pledged to work with the House “intensively” on the planned revisions.

Pope says Catholics do not need to breed 'like rabbits'

Yahoo – AFP, Jean-Louis De La Vaissiere, 20 Jan 2015

Pope Francis speaks to journalist onboard a plane during his trip back to

Rome on January 19, 2015 (AFP Photo/Giuseppe Cacace)

Rome (AFP) - Pope Francis has said that good Catholics do not have to breed "like rabbits", defending the Church's stance on artificial contraception and appealing to the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics to practise responsible parenting.

Speaking to journalists on his flight back from the Philippines, the pope said that he once asked a mother of seven children who was pregnant with her eighth if she wanted to "leave behind seven young orphans".

"She said, 'I trust in God.' But God gave us the means to be responsible," the pope said. "Some think, and excuse the term, that to be good Catholics, they must be like rabbits."

Pope Francis takes part in a mass at a

 park in Manila on January 18, 2015

(AFP Photo/Osservatore Romano)

Francis said creating new life was "part of the sacrament of marriage" and in Manila strongly defended his predecessor Paul VI's outlawing of artificial contraception for Catholics in 1968.

Following the church's teachings did not mean "Christians should have children one after the other", he said.

His comments came at the end of a trip to the Philippines, the Catholic Church's Asian stronghold, which last year passed a family planning law after a 15-year battle by the Church to block state-sanctioned contraception.

The law allows the government to begin distributing free contraceptives to millions of poor Filipinos.

It was a rare loss for the Church, which has for centuries been one of the nation's most powerful institutions and continues to count more than 80 percent of the nation's 100 million people as Catholics.

'Responsible parenthood'

The pope said that his predecessor had foreseen the rise in policies restricting childbirth.

"Paul VI was worried by the growth of neo-Malthusianism" (which advocates restricting the number of children the poor can have) which tried to "put a control on humanity... he was a prophet," he said.

"The key teaching of the Church is responsible parenthood. And how do we get that? By dialogue. There are marriage groups in the Church, experts and pastors," he added.

In 2013, six months after becoming pope, Francis urged the Church to drop its "obsession" with contraception, divorce, gays and abortion, in an interview signalling a dramatic shift in the Vatican's tone.

Pope Francis greets the crowd after

celebrating mass at a park in Manila on

January 18, 2015 (AFP Photo/Ted Aljibe)

The Argentine pope has brought a series of fresh perspectives to the notoriously rigid Church since he took over, signalling a strong reformist drive.

He stressed at the time that the Church's official position had not changed, but said that it should "always keep in mind the individual".

Francis' papacy -- he is the first Jesuit pope and the first from South America -- has marked a series of breaks with Vatican tradition.

The pope has become known for his humility and concern for the poor, and has reached out to non-believers and those in other religions. He regularly picks up the phone to call ordinary people who write to him.

His latest comments are not the first this month to attract attention for their candour.

Last week when discussing the deadly attack by Islamist gunmen angered by French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo's depiction of the Prophet Mohammed, the pope said: "If a good friend speaks badly of my mother, he can expect to get punched."

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"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“…  3 - Longer Life is Going to Happen, But…

Here is one that is a review. We keep bringing it up because Humans don't believe it. If you're going to start living longer, there are those who are frightened that there will be overpopulation. You've seen the way it is so far, and the geometric progression of mathematics is absolute and you cannot change it. So if you look at the population of the earth and how much it has shifted in the last two decades, it's frightening to you. What would change that progression?

The answer is simple, but requires a change in thinking. The answer is a civilization on the planet who understands a new survival scenario. Instead of a basic population who has been told to have a lot of children to enhance the race [old survival], they begin to understand the logic of a new scenario. The Akashic wisdom of the ages will start to creep in with a basic survival scenario shift. Not every single woman will look at herself and say, "The clock is ticking," but instead can say, "I have been a mother 14 times in a row. I'm going to sit this one out." It's a woman who understands that there is no loss or guilt in this, and actually feels that the new survival attribute is to keep the family small or not at all! Also, as we have said before, even those who are currently ignorant of population control will figure out what is causing babies to be born [Kryon joke].

Part of the new Africa will be education and healing, and eventually a zero population growth, just like some of the first-world nations currently have. Those who are currently tied to a spiritual doctrine will actually have that doctrine changed (watch for it) regarding Human birth. Then they will be able to make free choice that is appropriate even within the establishment of organized religion. You see, things are going to change where common sense will say, "Perhaps it would help the planet if I didn't have children or perhaps just one child." Then the obvious, "Perhaps I can exist economically better and be wiser with just one. It will help the one!" Watch for these changes. For those of you who are steeped in the tradition of the doctrines and would say that sounds outrageously impossible, I give you the new coming pope [Kryon smile]. For those of you who feel that uncontrolled procreation is inevitable, I encourage you to see statistics you haven't seen or didn't care to look at yet about what first-world countries have already accomplished on their own, without any mandates. It's already happening. That was number three.….”

Why didn't Indonesia's Jokowi stop the execution of drug traffickers?

Indonesia has ignored last-minute appeals by foreign leaders and executed six people convicted of drug trafficking. Analyst Yohanes Sulaiman tells DW President Jokowi is trying to convey the image of a "decisive leader."

Deutsche Welle, 20 Jan 2015

Brazil and the Netherlands recalled their ambassadors from Indonesia on January 18 after Jakarta ignored their pleas and executed two of their citizens by firing squad along with four other drug offenders from Vietnam, Malawi, Nigeria and Indonesia. The six were the first people executed under new Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, who has disappointed rights activists by voicing support for capital punishment.

President Jokowi defended the executions, saying those convicted of drug trafficking will not receive a presidential pardon since Indonesia is facing an "emergency" over drug use. Jakarta had an unofficial four-year moratorium on executions until 2013, when five people were put before the firing squad. There were no executions last year.

In a DW interview, Indonesia analyst Yohanes Sulaiman says President Jokowi appears to have been under no apparent pressure to restart executions and that he is simply trying to convey the image of being a decisive leader in a country where there seems to be public support for the death penalty.

DW: Why does Indonesia have such a strong policy against drug traffickers?

'Overt international pressure to stop the 

executions will backfire spectacularly,' 

says Sulaiman

Yohannes Sulaiman: Drug abuse is a big problem in Indonesia. Each year the number of addicts is increasing. Since it is believed that the majority of drugs in Indonesia are imported, the government believes that by imposing harsh punishment on traffickers, they could reduce or halt the importation of drugs.

Why has President Joko Widodo decided to stick to the country's policy of executing drug offenders?

There is actually no overt pressure from either the party, the media, or the public. However, while there are a lot of discussions on death penalty, generally the public and media in Indonesia are clamoring for the death penalty to be expanded to people engaged in corruption.

A quick glimpse of the media in the past couple of years reveals that there have been few discussions on the death penalty being imposed on drug traffickers - except during a couple of occasions when there were new developments such as the release of Schapelle Corby, an Australian who was convicted and imprisoned for drug smuggling. So the sudden restart of executions comes out of the blue.

My guess is that President Jokowi wants to show "results" and his "decisiveness" especially in the first 100 days of his administration. Keep in mind that the issue of "being decisive" has hobbled Jokowi since the election campaigning, where the opposition kept claiming that he was and would be a very weak leader.

It seems to me that burning ships engaged in illegal fishing and re-imposing the death penalty are things that he could do to stress and buttress the idea that he is a strong, decisive leader, while giving him a huge boost in popularity. In fact, if he stops executions now, he could actually lose a huge amount of prestige and popularity. The death penalty genie is already out of the bottle.

How do you think the latest executions will affect Indonesia's relations with nations such as Brazil or the Netherlands?

I don't see any long-term damage in ties between Indonesia and the Netherlands. Indonesia is one of the most important countries in Southeast Asia and, one could argue, even in the world, thanks to its demographic and geostrategic position. The Dutch have a strong economic relationship with Indonesia - the Netherlands is one of the five main investors in Indonesia. The situation is similar with Brazil, with bilateral trade booming.

Sulaiman: 'The death penalty is
 popular in Indonesia'

Furthermore, both Netherlands and Brazil have close political ties with the country. It is therefore very doubtful that both countries would risk this strong relationship. So while there will be a short-term dip in relations, I don't think this will have a strong impact in the long run.

What about the reactions from human rights groups?

The human rights groups are obviously disappointed, considering many believed that Jokowi would have much better track record in terms of human rights than his electoral rival Prabowo Subianto, who was suspected of being involved in human rights abuses back during the era of Indonesian strongman Suharto.

However, the main question is: Who voted for Jokowi? As already mentioned, the death penalty is popular in Indonesia even though you can argue that its effectiveness is overrated and it is not applied fairly.

What's important is to convey the image that you have a decisive president willing to impose the death penalty on those who are bent on poisoning the minds of the youths with drugs. That could be the image that wins the next election - or shows at least that the president is doing something in the first 100 days of his administration.

Will diplomatic appeals help prevent other executions?

It is a difficult question to answer because there are plenty of factors that might influence this. Obviously, overt international pressure, I think, will backfire spectacularly. The last thing Jokowi wants to have is the image of him kowtowing to foreign governments and pardoning drug smugglers on the death row.

Sulaiman: 'The government believes it
could halt the importation of drugs by
imposing harsh punishment on traffickers'

The opposition and the media would have a field day condemning the government and that also runs counter to the image that Jokowi wants to cultivate, which is the image of him as a "decisive leader" who wants Indonesia to be respected abroad.

I think diplomatic appeals, done quietly and with some incentives behind it, could prevent the executions. The death penalty genie is already out of the bottle, so there's no way that Jokowi could declare that he would stop the executions.

But, he could use the oldest trick in the book: just do nothing and people will forget about it. In order to do that, though, the Australians should put something on the table in exchange for another moratorium on the death penalty. That might work, but it has to be done very quietly.

Yohanes Sulaiman is Lecturer in International Relations and Political Science at the Indonesian Defense University.

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Foreign Ministry: Netherlands, Brazil Ties Not Harmed, Oz Efforts ‘Respected’

Jakarta Globe, Jan 20, 2015

An ambulance carrying the body of one of those executed on Sunday,
in Cilacap, Central Java. (Antara Photo/Idhad Zakaria)

Jakarta. In an apparent effort to play down the international fallout of the recent execution of six drug convicts, the Foreign Affairs Ministry stressed on Tuesday that the ambassadors of the Netherlands and Brazil were only called back for consultation — and not withdrawn — and that Indonesia “respects” Australian efforts to save the lives of two of its citizens on death row here.

Ministry spokesman Armanatha Nasir said that both Brazil and the Netherlands – whose governments have expressed their serious disappointment over Indonesia’s decision to kill their nationals despite high-level requests to commute their death sentences — still have a diplomatic presence in Jakarta.

“I have to stress again that this is not a withdrawal of ambassadors but a recall for consultation. Last week they sent us a letter informing us of this recall. If you say ‘withdraw’ that means severing diplomatic ties, and it’s not like that,” Armanatha said.

The spokesman added that such a diplomatic move should not be considered as very unusual, that the relations with Brazil and the Netherlands would not be harmed by this measure, and that Indonesia still considered its ties with both as friendly.

“The Foreign Affairs Ministry is of the opinion that every government has the right to recall their ambassador for consultation,” Armanatha said.  “We keep our lines of communication open with these two countries, and we try to maintain good bilateral relations with the Netherlands and Brazil.”

Nigeria

The spokesman already made similar comments on Sunday, but since then the Nigerian government also summoned the Indonesian ambassador over the execution of two of its nationals.

It was previously reported that one of those executed was a citizen of Malawi, but the Nigerian government said the man identified as Namaona Denis based on the Malawian passport he was using, was in fact one of its nationals.

Six people were executed for drug offenses on Sunday, one Indonesian national, a Dutchman, a Brazilian, a Vietnamese woman, and the two Nigerians.

Australia

Armanatha also said that Indonesia respected the efforts by Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott to get Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan off death row, but that the supremacy of Indonesian law should be honored.

The spokesman said he was confident ties with Australia would not be damaged over the execution of the two men who were part of the so-called Bali Nine heroin smuggling network.

“What we know is that the Australian PM has said that the ties between Indonesia and Australia are very strong and they have also said that this factor [the planned executions] will not disturb diplomatic relations,” Armanatha said.

Chan is still waiting for a response from President Joko Widodo to his clemency request. His execution, or that of Sukumaran, has not been scheduled yet, but the Indonesian government has stressed it plans to put to all drug convicts on death row before the firing squad, regardless of nationality.

Attorney General H.M. Prasetyo, left, talks with journalists at the

Attorney General's Office about the execution of six death row

inmates on Jan. 18, 2015.(Antara Photo/Muhammad Adimaja)

Related Articles:

Indonesia Says Diplomatic Relations Will Not Suffer Because of Executions

Amid Execution Outcry, AG Says Respect Indonesia’s Laws

Death Toll From Tree Collapse at Bogor Gardens Hits 7

Jakarta Globe, Vento Saudale, Jan 19, 2015

Seven people have died so far after a tree collapsed at Bogor Botanical
Gardens earlier this month. (Antara Photo/Jafkhairi)

Jakarta. A tree that collapsed at the renowned Bogor Botanical Gardens has claimed another life, bringing the death toll to seven.

Nur Ali, 52, from Cibinong in Bogor, died from injuries to his head and stomach on Saturday morning after seven days of intensive care, a spokesman for Bogor Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) Hospital said on Monday.

A total of 25 people were injured when the agathis tree collapsed on a group of people about 10 a.m. on January 11.

Bogor Police have questioned two surviving witnesses, a staff member from the gardens and asked tree experts from Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) for help in determining the cause of the accident.

Adj. Comr. Auliya R. Djabar, a spokesman for Bogor Police, said after examining the tree it appeared to be old and “not in a good condition.”

Four other agathis trees of similar age and condition have been cut down at the gardens since the accident.

Indonesia Says Diplomatic Relations Will Not Suffer Because of Executions

Jakarta Globe, Jan 19, 2015

Attorney General H.M. Prasetyo, left, talks with journalists at the Attorney
 General's Office about the execution of six death row inmates on Jan. 18, 2015.
(Antara Photo/Muhammad Adimaja)

Jakarta. Indonesia said its execution of the citizens of Brazil and the Netherlands over the weekend were unlikely to damage diplomatic relations with the two countries.

“No, it won’t,” Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Armanatha Nasir said on Sunday. “We try to maintain relations with countries we consider our friends.”

Brazil and the Netherlands have recalled their ambassadors after the Indonesian government ignored their pleas for clemency and proceeded on Sunday with the execution of six prisoners convicted of drug offenses.

It were the first executions under Joko Widodo’s presidency.

“It’s common for countries to recall their ambassadors for consultations. It’s their right to do so, and we respect this right,” Armanatha said.

Five foreigners and an Indonesian were killed by firing squad shortly after midnight, the Attorney General’s Office said. The foreigners were from Nigeria, Malawi, Vietnam, Brazil and the Netherlands.

Brazil recalled its ambassador in Jakarta for consultations and said the executions will affect its relations with Indonesia.

“The use of the death penalty, which the world society increasingly condemns, severely affects relations between our countries,” the Brazilian presidency said in a statement

published by the country’s official news agency.

The Netherlands, a former colonial power in Indonesia, also recalled its ambassador and condemned the execution of its citizen, Ang Kiem Soei.

“It is a cruel and inhumane punishment that amounts to an unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity,” Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders said.

Before the execution, the lawyer for Soei tweeted that Soei expressed gratitude towards his government for  its unsuccessful efforts. He stated that he would stand before the firing squad without a blindfold.

President Joko, who signed off on the executions last month, has taken a tough stance on the rule of law and pledged no clemency for drug offenders.

Indonesia resumed executions in 2013 after a five-year gap.

“This is a country that just a few years ago had taken positive steps to move away from the death penalty, but the authorities are now steering the country in the opposite direction,” said Rupert Abbott, research director at Amnesty International.

However, Hikmahanto Juwana, a professor of international law at the University of Indonesia, defended Indonesia for proceeding with the executions, arguing that the country should not worry about the recall of the foreign ambassadors.

“Indonesia will not be isolated just because we execute prisoners,” he said.

Hikmahanto predicted that such a recall would not last long as both countries needed Indonesia more than Indonesia needed them.

He said Indonesian diplomats should explain that the nation is in a drug emergency.

Additional reporting from Reuters

Related Articles:

Brazil and Netherlands recall Indonesia ambassadors over drug executions

Australia Pursues Plea to Spare Drug Smugglers on Indonesia’s Death Row

Australia Pursues Plea to Spare Drug Smugglers on Indonesia’s Death Row

Jakarta Globe – AFP, Jan 19, 2015

Almost four kilograms of methamphetamine was destroyed by the National Narcotics
 Agency on Jan. 8, 2015. Australia seeks to spare its citizens imprisoned for drug
 offenses from execution in Indonesia. (Antara Photo/Regina Safri)

Sydney. Canberra is pursuing efforts to save two convicted Australians from the firing squad in Indonesia, Foreign Minister Julia Bishop said on Monday after Jakarta executed six drug offenders.

“The prime minister [Tony Abbott] has written again to President [Joko] Widodo,” Bishop said. “The Australian government will continue to make representations at the highest level.”

Brazil and the Netherlands recalled their ambassadors from Indonesia and expressed fury on Sunday after Jakarta put to death two of their citizens along with four other drug offenders from Vietnam, Malawi, Nigeria and Indonesia.

The six were the first people executed under President Joko Widodo, who took office in October and has voiced strong support for capital punishment.

Joko’s stance has raised fears for other foreigners sentenced to death, particularly two Australians who were part of the “Bali Nine” group caught trying to smuggle heroin out of Indonesia in 2005.

One of the pair, Myuran Sukumaran, had his clemency appeal rejected last month but authorities say he will be executed with fellow Australian Andrew Chan as they committed their crime together.

Chan is still awaiting the outcome of his clemency appeal.

Bishop skirted round questions of Australia withdrawing diplomats from Jakarta, noting they were required to stay to plead with the government.

She said the foreign ministry had recently replied to her own letter “rejecting our representations on the basis that Indonesia claims it is facing a crisis in terms of drug trafficking and it believes that the death penalty should apply.”

“It is a long-standing position of Australian governments that we oppose the death penalty and we oppose the execution of Australian nationals by another country,” she said. “I don’t believe executing people is the answer to solving the drug problem.

“However, this is Indonesian law and it is a sober reminder that drug related offenses carry very, very heavy penalties in other countries, particularly in Indonesia.”

Joko pledged in December there would be no pardons for drug traffickers on death row, including foreigners.

Agence France-Presse

Brazil and Netherlands recall Indonesia ambassadors over drug executions

Brazilian Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira and Dutchman Ang Kiem Soei among six convicts executed by firing squad under tough anti-drugs laws

The Guardian, AFP, Jakarta,  Sunday 18 January 2015

Brazilian citizen Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira, one of the six people executed
for drugs offences in Indonesia. Photograph: Beawiharta/Reuters 

Brazil and the Netherlands have recalled their ambassadors from Indonesia and expressed fury after Jakarta defied their pleas and executed two of their citizens along with four other drug offenders.

The other convicts to face a firing squad were from Vietnam, Malawi, Nigeria and Indonesia. The six were the first people executed under new President Joko Widodo.

Indonesia has tough anti-drugs laws and Widodo, who took office in October, has disappointed rights activists by voicing support for capital punishment despite his image as a reformist.

He defended the executions, saying drugs ruin lives.

A spokesman for the Brazilian president, Dilma Roussef, said she was “distressed and outraged” after Indonesia ignored her last-ditch pleas and put to death Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira, who was convicted of smuggling cocaine into Indonesia in 2004.

“Using the death penalty, which is increasingly rejected by the international community, seriously affects relations between our countries,” the spokesman said in a statement on Sunday.

The Brazilian ambassador to Jakarta was being recalled for consultations, the spokesman added.

Meanwhile, the Dutch foreign minister, Bert Koenders, said the Netherlands had also recalled its ambassador over the execution of Dutchman Ang Kiem Soei, and in a statement described all six deaths as “terribly sad”.

“My heart goes out to their families, for whom this marks a dramatic end to years of uncertainty,” Koenders said. “The Netherlands remains opposed to the death penalty.”

The Dutch monarch, Willem-Alexander, and prime minister Mark Rutte had been in contact with the Indonesian president about the matter, he said, and the government had done “all in its power” to try to halt the execution.

Widodo on Sunday defended the death penalty in a Facebook post.

“The war against the drug mafia should not be half-hearted measures, because drugs have really ruined the good life of the drug users and their families,” he said.

“There is no happiness in life to be gained from drug abuse. The country must be present and fight with drug syndicates head-on,” he added.

“A healthy Indonesia is Indonesia without drugs.”

All the prisoners, who had been sentenced to death between 2000 and 2011, were executed shortly after midnight, the attorney general’s office said.

The 53-year-old Brazilian, who was caught with drugs stashed in the frame of his paraglider at Jakarta airport, and the 62-year-old Dutchman were executed at the high-security prison on Nusakambangan island, off the main island of Java.

A Nigerian, Daniel Enemuo; Namaona Denis, from Malawi; and an Indonesian woman, Rani Andriani, were executed at the same location.

The sixth convict, Vietnamese woman Tran Thi Bich Hanh, was executed in the Boyolali district in central Java.

They were all caught attempting to smuggle narcotics, apart from the Dutchman, who was sentenced to death for operating a huge factory producing the drug ecstasy.

All had their appeals to the president for clemency rejected last month.

Jakarta had an unofficial moratorium on executions for several years from 2008 but resumed capital punishment again in 2013. There were no executions last year.

Widodo, known as Jokowi, has taken a particularly hard line towards people on death row for narcotics offences, insisting they will not receive a presidential pardon since Indonesia is facing an “emergency” over drug use.

Following Sunday’s executions, the number of people on death row for drugs-related offences stood at 60, around half of whom were foreigners, said a spokesman for the national narcotics agency.

Widodo’s tough stance has sparked concern for other foreigners sentenced to death, particularly two Australians who were part of the “Bali Nine” group caught trying to smuggle heroin out of Indonesia in 2005.

One of the pair, Myuran Sukumaran, also had his appeal for clemency rejected last month but authorities say he will be executed with fellow Australian Andrew Chan as they committed their crime together.

Chan is still awaiting the outcome of his appeal for clemency.

Also on death row is British grandmother Lindsay Sandiford. She was sentenced to death in 2013 after being caught trying to smuggle cocaine into Bali.

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