Australian Prime minister Tony Abbott has released a statement on the Bali Nine executions saying that they were 'cruel and unnecessary'. Source: Sky News
Angry Abbott recalls his ambassador and blasts Indonesia after drug smugglers Chan and Sukumaran die at the hands of a firing squad.
As Australians woke up to the news they had dreaded, Tony Abbott's Government recalled its ambassador to Indonesia, with the Prime Minister condemning the executions of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran as "cruel" and "unnecessary".
The unprecedented move came within hours of the two Australians, and six other convicted drugfelons, facing firing squads on the penal island of Nusakambangan.
Ministerial contacts had also been suspended, Abbott announced, calling the executions an "appalling tragedy" and deploring the "dark moment" in Australian-Indonesian relations.
Backing the Government's tough stance, the Opposition Leader, Bill Shorten, said: "We are disgusted at the futile act of execution of these two young Australian men It was not justice, it was the senseless waste of two good lives."
Supporters display placards outside the Indonesian Embassy, Philippines. Photo / AP
As ambulances carrying the men's coffins set off for Jakarta, followed in a sombre convoy by their families, Indonesia defended its actions in the face of an international outcry. "We are fighting a war against horrible drug crimes that threaten our nation's survival," said the Attorney-General, Muhammad Prasetyo.
The executions closed a long and harrowing chapter that began almost exactly 10 years ago, when Chan and Sukumaran, together with seven other Australians, were arrested while trying to smuggle heroin out of Bali.
At 12.35am local time, the eight death row prisoners - including Indonesian Zainal Abidin, Brazilian Rodrigo Gularte, Nigerians Sylvester Obiekwe Nwolise, Raheem Agbaje Salami and Okwudili Oyatanze, and Ghanaian Martin Anderson - were driven to a forest clearing and tied to wooden crosses. All eight faced their executioners without a blindfold, according to Father Charles Burrows, who ministered to Gularte. They sang hymns, including Amazing Grace, before being cut off by the crackle of gunfire. All died quickly, according to a source quoted by Fairfax Media.
Past executions of Australians abroad - including that of convicted drug smuggler Van Tuong Nguyen in Singapore in 2005 - did not lead to ambassadors being called home. Yesterday's move was also the first time, despite the ups and downs of bilateral relations, that Australia has recalled an ambassador from Indonesia.
Abbott's Government had repeatedly lobbied Indonesia's President, Joko Widodo, to spare the lives of Chan, 31, and Sukumaran, 34. The men's lawyers had explored every legal avenue, including challenging Widodo's refusal to grant them clemency without considering their individual circumstances, particularly their rehabilitation. "I failed. I lost. I am sorry," one of their legal team, Mulya Lubis, bleakly tweeted yesterday.
The independent senator Nick Xenophon called for the Australian Federal Police to face fresh scrutiny over their role in alerting Indonesia to the Bali Nine operation - and delivering at least some of them to near-certain death. The other seven Australians are serving life in prison.
In a sign that not all Indonesians support the death penalty, the Jakarta Globe said in a front-page editorial that executions would do nothing to help eradicate the country's drug problem. An editorial in the Sydney Morning Herald lamented that "mankind has been diminished by yet another act of barbarism in the cause of political expediency".
The six others executed
1 Martin Anderson, Ghana
Alias Belo. He was sentenced to death by South Jakarta District Court in June 2004 after being convicted of possessing 50g of heroin in Jakarta in November 2003
2 Zainal Abidin, Indonesia
He was initially sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment by Palembang District Court in September 2001 for smuggling 58.7kg of marijuana. He was later sentenced to death by the Palembang High Court in December 2001
3 Raheem Agbaje Salami, Nigeria
He was initially sentenced to life imprisonment by Surabaya District Court in April 1999 for smuggling 5.3kg of heroin into Indonesia at the East Java city's airport in September 1998. In May 2006 he was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court and was not able to appeal to a higher court, according to Amnesty International
He was sentenced to death by the Tangerang District Court in February 2005 for smuggling 6kg of cocaine into Jakarta. According to his lawyer, he had paranoid schizophrenia and had not been able to discuss his case with his counsel.
5 Serge Areski Atlaoui, France
The father of four was arrested near Jakarta in 2005 in a secret laboratory producing ecstasy. He had always denied the charges, saying he was installing machinery in what he thought was an acrylics factory
6 Sylvester Obiekwe, Nigeria
Alias Mustopa, he was first arrested in 2003 for smuggling 1.2kg of heroin into Indonesia. He had since been caught operating drugs syndicates even from death row, and is considered a priority for execution.
She was sentenced to death in October 2010 for attempting to smuggle 2.6kg of heroin into Indonesia from Malaysia in April 2010. Veloso, who comes from a poor rural family in the Philippines, was reportedly acting as a courier for an international syndicate when she was arrested on arrival at Yogyakarta, central Java, from an Air Asia flight from Kuala Lumpur. She was spared at the last minute after a woman who allegedly recruited her to act as a drug courier gave herself up to police in the Philippines on Tuesday, the
Jakarta Post
reported yesterday.
What they said
Chan and Sukumaran families
Today we lost Myuran and Andrew. Our sons, our brothers. In the 10 years since they were arrested, they did all they could to make amends, helping many others. They asked for mercy, but there was none. They were immensely grateful for all the support they received. We too, will be forever grateful.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran's family and friends at this extremely difficult time. Australia respects Indonesia's sovereignty, but deeply regrets that Indonesia could not extend the mercy it so often seeks for its own citizens.
Indonesian Attorney-General, Muhammad Prasetyo
This is a warning for others, don't even try to commit these drug crimes, to think a thousand times, that Indonesia will be strict, will be harsh on drug crimes. This is a momentary [diplomatic] ripple. It's the diplomatic domain. There will be a solution.
Diplomatic retaliation
Done: • Ambassador recalled. • Suspension of ministerial contact.
Watch this space Budget Day, May 12: • Cut to the A$650 million of aid Australia gives Indonesia a year.
Possible but goes against strategic interests: • Reduced co-operation in certain areas such as law enforcement, defence and security. • Cancelling annual leaders' talks.
Very unlikely: • Trade sanctions. • Ending diplomatic ties completely.
