Australia has recalled its ambassador from Indonesia after two Australian men were executed for drug smuggling.
Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were among eight
people from several countries executed by firing squad shortly after midnight
on Wednesday on the prison island of Nusakambangan.
Brazil's government also expressed its "deep
dismay" at the execution of one of its citizens, Rodrigo Gularte.
But the execution of a Philippine woman was called
off at the last minute.
Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso was spared after her
government appealed to Indonesia, saying a woman she had accused of planting
drugs on her had handed herself in.
Australia had mounted a lengthy diplomatic campaign to save Chan
and Sukumaran, convicted in 2006 of being the ringleaders of a group of
Australian heroin traffickers known as the Bali Nine.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on
Tuesday that the executions were "both cruel and unnecessary," saying
Chan and Sukumaran had been "fully rehabilitated" while in prison.
"We respect Indonesia's sovereignty but we do
deplore what's been done and this cannot be simply business as usual," he
said.
"For that reason, once all the courtesies have
been extended to the Chan and Sukumaran families our ambassador will be
withdrawn for consultations."
Indonesia is an important country to Australia, the
BBC's Jon Donnison says, with the two working closely together on asylum
seekers and terrorism issues.
This is the first time Australia has recalled an
ambassador from Indonesia, and its first ever recall over the execution of one
of its citizens abroad.
Indonesian Attorney General Muhammad Prasetyo
defended the executions, saying his country was fighting a "war" on
drugs.
Analysis: Karishma Vaswani, BBC Indonesia editor
Joko
Widodo, Indonesia's president, has publicly declared a war on drugs and said he
will refuse all clemency applications from convicted drug traffickers - a
stance that could prove legally problematic given that the very point of a
presidential clemency is to evaluate each individual on a case-by-case basis.
But
that will be little comfort to the families of the eight people who were
executed.
Indonesia
risks souring relations with other nations over its hardline approach, as it
has already with Australia, home of two of the smugglers. But Indonesia's new
president appears willing to take the risk, even if it means tarnishing his own
reputation as a liberal, reform-minded leader.
The families of the condemned prisoners paid them final,
emotional visits on Monday afternoon before the sentences were carried out.
All eight refused offers of blindfolds, and were singing
together in their final moments, a pastor present at the execution told the Sydney Morning
Herald.
Hours after the executions, ambulances left the
prison island, taking the prisoners' bodies to their chosen funeral sites in
Indonesia or their home countries.
Brazil's government later issued a statement saying
the execution of Gularte marked "a serious event in the relations between
the two countries".
Gularte's family had said he had schizophrenia and should not
have been on death row.
The statement said Indonesia "had not been
sensitive to President [Dilma] Rousseff's humanitarian plea".
Gularte was the second Brazilian to be executed for
drug smuggling in Indonesia in four months. Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira was
killed by firing squad at Nusakambangan in January, prompting Brazil to recall
its ambassador.
But there was delight on Monday for the family of
Philippine woman Veloso, after her execution was called off at the last minute
following a request by the Philippine president.
Her mother described the last minute reprieve as a
"miracle".
"We are so happy, I can't believe it. I can't
believe my child will live," Celia Veloso told Philippine radio station
DZMM.
Sonny Coloma, a spokesman for the Philippine
president, told the BBC he was "relieved and thankful" but stressed
"the death sentence on her has not been lifted".
"What was done was a stay or a reprieve on her
execution. That's why we're appealing that a new opportunity be given for her
to give additional testimony that would clarify that she is a victim of a
trafficking syndicate."
Hundreds of protesters had been keeping vigil
outside the Indonesian embassy in the Philippines awaiting the news.
§
Australians Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan
§
Ghanaian Martin Anderson
§
Indonesian Zainal Abidin bin Mgs Mahmud Badarudin
§
Nigerians Raheem Agbaje Salami, Sylvester Obiekwe Nwolise,
Okwudili Oyatanze
§
Brazilian Rodrigo Gularte
§
Frenchman Serge Areski Atlaoui and Filipina Mary Jane Fiesta
Veloso were spared as they have ongoing appeals
A
Frenchman also convicted of drug offences, Serge Areski Atlaoui, was originally
due to be executed with the group but has an appeal outstanding.
The
French government said it "reiterates its opposition to the death
sentence, in all cases and all circumstances".
Indonesia
has some of the toughest drug laws in the world and ended a four-year
moratorium on executions in 2013.
It
says it takes a hard line because of the country's own drugs problem - 33
Indonesians die every day as a result of drugs, according to Indonesia's
National Narcotics Agency.
Source +BBC News
Tagged +BBC News
Post a Comment