News Digest

Indonesia sympathy over executions a good sign for ties: Australia

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Friday it would be best to restore Australia’s relationship with Indonesia “as quickly as possible” as the bodies of two drug traffickers executed two days before were set to return home. Canberra withdrew its ambassador to Jakarta after Andrew Chan, 31, and Myuran Sukumaran, 34, were executed by firing squad along with six others on Wednesday despite a storm of international criticism and pleas from their families. Abbott said it was an encouraging sign for the relationship that Indonesia’s ambassador in Canberra, Nadjib Riphat Kesoema, had acknowledged the feeling in Australia against the executions

It’s a sign that decent people in Indonesia appreciate the anger that Australians feel at these cruel and unnecessary deaths.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Aboott

The ambassador added that good relations with Australia were important to his country, and Jakarta remained strongly committed to improving and strengthening the overall bilateral relationship. Abbott said while it was a difficult moment in the Australia-Indonesia relationship, he was confident that both countries would do what was necessary to rebuild ties between the nations, which are key allies in counter-terrorism efforts. Indonesia is also a significant economic partner for Australia, with two-way trade in goods and services reaching Aus$14.9 billion (US$11.8 billion) in 2013.