COMMENTS:
1- ISLAM does not legalized the execution of drugs conviction to death. No where in the Quran or Hadith (Sunnah) that cite/quote a verse that support such act. Henceforth, this is purely "man-made law" (Indonesian Laws).
2- The two Australians were ALREADY a changed men! They were reformed men, they have regret their actions, and are willing to mentor others not to follow their steps.
3- The men ask for leniency/clemency and they received none!
The Australian embassy and govt asked for clemency and they got none!
4- CLEARLY, there are BLOODS on the hands of the judges that passed the sentences/executions!
5- There are bloods on the hand of the Indonesian govt for allowing such things to happen!
6- AND most importantly, there are bloods on the hand of the Indonesian's President, Joko Widodo, for:
* Lack of clemency
* Lack of understanding of the importance of international relations between countries
* Lack of understanding of world politics
* Lack of understanding of political-economy, and the poor performance of Indonesia's economy
* Lack of understanding of international laws
* Lack of understanding of Islamic laws (i.e. the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, is a Muslim, so by right, he should understand the true teaching of Islam, and Islamic laws - which NO where in the Quran or Hadith that cited the permissibility/allow the execution for drug related offences!).
Henceforth, 'Man-made laws' (i.e. Indonesian Laws) are made by men, and henceforth can be changed/amended ! CHANGED the laws (that legalized the killing of people/offenders)!
There will be CONSEQUENCES from the international communities and governments, and importantly the Australian government will put restrains on Indonesia's Govt and people, in terms of economic restrains (i.e. less buying of Indonesian made goods), education scholarships opportunity restrains, travelling restrains, and others.
IT is JOKO's fault ! BUT the people of Indonesia will suffer, because of their silences and lack of protest, and call for new laws REFORM !!
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Source: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/world/article/indonesia-faces-storm-of-international-protest-over-drug-convicts-execution
Indonesia Faces Storm of International Protest over (drug convicts’) Execution !
Activists clench their fists as they react after it was announced that the execution was delayed for death row prisoner Mary Jane Veloso, during a vigil outside Indonesian embassy in Makati, Philippines April 29, 2015. — Reuters pic
CILACAP (Indonesia), April 30 ― Indonesia faced a storm of international protest yesterday for putting seven foreign drug convicts before a firing squad, but Filipinos rejoiced after a compatriot was spared at the last minute.
Australia withdrew its ambassador in protest at what it called “cruel and unnecessary” executions, Brazil expressed strong regret and France vowed a diplomatic battle to save a citizen still on death row.
Indonesia staunchly defended the executions as a vital front of its “war” on drugs, as testimony emerged of how the condemned men went singing to their deaths.
The seven ― two from Australia, one from Brazil and four from Nigeria ― were shot along with one Indonesian, despite strident foreign appeals and pleas from family members.
Brazil expressed “deep regret” at the execution of its national, who was mentally ill according to his family, and said it was weighing its next move.
Abuja yesterday named the Nigerians put to death as Martin Anderson, Okwudili Oyatanze, Jamiu Abashin and Sylvester Obiekwe, and expressed its “deep disappointment” over Jakarta's decision.
There had been confusion about the names and nationalities of the four Africans, with Nigeria's National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) saying last week that Anderson was Ghanaian.
The condemned men reportedly all refused blindfolds and sang hymns, among them “Amazing Grace”, as they went to face the firing squad in a jungle clearing, according to a pastor who was with them.
As the clock ticked down to midnight, a group of tearful supporters also sang hymns, embraced and held candles aloft during a vigil at the port in Cilacap, the gateway to the prison island of Nusakambangan.
A Filipina originally set to be executed was given an 11th hour reprieve after a woman who allegedly duped her into ferrying drugs to Indonesia came forward to police in the Philippines.
The reprieve for Mary Jane Veloso was hailed in the Philippines as a miracle and a gift from God, but Indonesian Attorney General Muhammad Prasetyo stressed it was only a “postponement” to allow time for police investigations.
He added: “We are fighting a war against horrible drug crimes that threaten our nation's survival.
“I would like to say that an execution is not a pleasant thing. It is not a fun job.
“But we must do it in order to save the nation from the danger of drugs. We are not making enemies of countries from where those executed came. What we are fighting against is drug-related crimes.”
'They asked for mercy: there was none'
Prasetyo also played down Australia's decision to recall its ambassador, describing it as a “temporary reaction”, while Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi stressed Jakarta's desire to “continue having good relations” with one of its most important trading partners.
Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, ringleaders of the so-called “Bali Nine” heroin trafficking gang, were described by Canberra as reformed men after years in prison.
The families said their sons did “all they could to make amends, helping many others” since their arrests, with Sukumaran teaching fellow inmates English and art, and Chan ordained as a minister in February.
“They asked for mercy, but there was none,” the families said in a joint statement.
Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan and Foreign Minister Aminu Wali said in a statement they had made “spirited appeals for clemency”, for the lives of their four nationals, most recently at an Asian-African summit in the Indonesian capital Jakarta last week.
There were already signs of fallout yesterday with former Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono cancelling a trip to Perth, citing concern about reaction to the executions.
The European Union meanwhile expressed its “dismay” and called for a moratorium on further executions in the country. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon echoed the sentiment, saying the death penalty “has no place in the 21st century”.
Jakarta stocks closed down 2.34 per cent, due in part to the effect of the death sentences on investor sentiment.
Plain coffins
Widodo, who took office in October, cites figures from the national anti-narcotics agency showing that more than 30 Indonesians die every day due to drugs.
However some academics believe the agency's data is flawed, while critics accuse Widodo of pursuing a populist policy following recent political problems.
The bodies of Chan and Sukumaran, in plain wooden coffins, arrived in Jakarta after being driven from Cilacap in two ambulances. They were taken to a funeral home and will soon be flown back to Australia for burial.
There were very different scenes in the Philippines after the last-minute reprieve for Veloso, whose case attracted emotional appeals for mercy from boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao among others.
“Miracles do come true,” her mother Celia told a Philippine radio station, adding that her daughter's two boys aged 12 and six were awake and yelling “Yes, yes, mama will live”.
France said yesterday it was mobilising all diplomatic options to try to save Serge Atlaoui.
The 51-year-old Frenchman was originally among the group set to be executed but was granted a temporary reprieve after Indonesia agreed to allow an outstanding legal appeal to run its course. ― AFP
- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/world/article/indonesia-faces-storm-of-international-protest-over-drug-convicts-execution#sthash.r3JsWpAf.dpuf------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/world/article/australias-foreign-minister-slams-chaos-ahead-of-indonesia-executions
Australia’s FM warns Indonesia of consequences ahead of executions !
Diplomats, visitors and the family of Australian death row prisoners Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan are seen on a ferry leaving for a family visit towards the prison island of Nusakambangan, in Cilacap, Central Java. — Reuters picSYDNEY, April 28 — Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop today criticised Indonesia’s “chaotic” handling of the execution of nine prisoners, including eight foreigners, saying there would be “consequences” if the killings were carried out.
Two Australians, “Bali Nine” drug traffickers Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, are among the convicts being held at the high-security prison island of Nusakambangan, where they are expected to be put to death by firing squad in several hours.
“I think the ghastly process that the family have been put through today just underscores how chaotic this has been,” Bishop told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
“They do deserve respect and they do deserve to have dignity shown to them at this time of unspeakable grief. But that doesn’t seem to have been extended to them at this time.”
The families had to push through a huge scrum of journalists when they arrived at Cilacap, the town that serves as the gateway to Nusakambangan, to visit the two men. Sukumaran’s sister Brintha collapsed into the arms of family members who had to carry her.
Bishop said her government had made several requests to the Indonesian government, including asking for formal notifications on when the executions would take place, but had not received any response.
“They have not responded to any of our requests and there are a number of outstanding requests to which we have still not yet received a response,” the minister said.
She added that she was “very dismayed” and “deeply disturbed at some of the aspects of how this has been handled”.
Bishop said “there will be have to be consequences” if the two Australians were executed, but would not provide any details.
Australian media have speculated the government could recall its ambassador from Jakarta.
Brazil and the Netherlands recalled their ambassadors from Indonesia after two of their citizens were executed in January along with four other drug offenders.
Bishop’s comments came as some 300 supporters of the Australian pair gathered at Martin Place in Sydney’s central business district tonight to hold a vigil.
Several people held signs calling for Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo to show mercy to the drug smugglers.
In an emotional address to the crowd, Sukumaran’s cousin Andrew Rajeevan said the two men were grateful for the support from their home country.
“Over the last 10 years, I’ve seen Myu and Andrew become completely different people,” Rajeevan said of the decade the two men have spent behind bars on the Indonesian island of Bali since their arrests in 2005.
“They’ve been rehabilitated, so what’s the point in killing them? If anyone in Indonesia is listening, it’s still not too late.” — AFP
- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/world/article/australias-foreign-minister-slams-chaos-ahead-of-indonesia-executions#sthash.yPS5L0j8.dpuf
