News Digest

Australia PM uses tsunami aid to pressure Jakarta over executions

Prime Minister Tony Abbott urged Indonesia Wednesday to remember Canberra’s significant help in dealing with the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami as he ramped up pressure to spare two Australians on death row. Indonesian authorities have confirmed that Andrew Chan, 31, and Myuran Sukumaran, 33, ringleaders of the so-called Bali Nine heroin trafficking group, will be among the next set of prisoners to face the firing squad. But they have been tight-lipped about when the executions will take place and which other foreign convicts will join them. Abbott said he continued to make “the strongest possible personal representations” to Indonesian President Joko Widodo and warned he would feel “grievously let down” if his pleas for clemency were ignored. Abbott referred to the assistance given to Indonesia in the aftermath of the tsunami that left 220,000 people dead across 14 countries, almost 170,000 from Indonesia.

I would say to the Indonesian people and the Indonesian government - we in Australia are always there to help you and we hope that you might reciprocate in this way at this time.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott

Indonesia has harsh penalties for drug trafficking and resumed executions in 2013 after a five-year gap. The case has enormous resonance as a domestic political issue in Australia, and Abbott ratcheted up the rhetoric at the weekend amid a growing campaign to boycott travel to Bali, a destination favoured by Australian tourists. On Tuesday, Chan and Sukumaran were given a glimmer of hope when their transfer to the prison where they are due to be shot was postponed with the Indonesian attorney-general’s office saying it would not go ahead this week. The delay was in response to Canberra urging more time for the families to be with their loved ones, and logistical difficulties involving capacity at the Nusakambangan island jail.

We will be making our displeasure known. We will be letting Indonesia know in absolutely unambiguous terms that we feel grievously let down.

Tony Abbott said when asked what would happen if the executions went ahead