© Khalil Mazraawi
Brilio.net/en - 2015 wasnt a good year for Indonesia on the international front. There were outcries from every corner of the globe after 8 criminals were executed, of which 7 were international, by a 30-member firing squad. The situation was quite vicious, especially for diplomatic standard. Official ambassadors of Brazil and Australia deplored the action, with the Australian ambassador eventually took a leave of absence from Indonesia. Diplomatic relations were severely damaged with several countries, seeing as the victims of the dated death penalty came from all corners of the globe including Brazil, Australia and Nigeria, with one Indonesian facing the firing squad.
And it seems as if a new year didnt bring about much change. The Indonesian representative was publicly booed at the United Nations for reiterating the support for the death penalty, which is an action that runs against international law. While there is no official date or list of prisoners to be executed yet, it is only a matter of time.The last information we received is that the attorney general has asked the parliament for the budget for the third round, says Putri Kanesia, from the Jakarta-based human rights organisation Kontras. But they should stop and evaluate the first and second batch. There were a lot of unfair trials.
Image via VOA Indonesia
At the end of 2015, there were 165 people on death row in Indonesia, of which 40% were there for drug-related crimes. The president of the southeast Asian country has stated that he would not pardon a single drug related criminal, and even maintained his stringent position on capital punished when questioned by German chancellor Angela Merkel, citing it as a necessary means to deal with the rampant drug problem that he deems a national emergency.
It is no secret that Indonesia has a problem with drugs, and a problem with dealing with drugs. (Just think back to the the policy suggested by anti-drugs chief Budi Waseso last year when he stated that prisoners should be kept on an island surrounded by crocodiles, as they cant be bribed like guards.) But will be see growth in this year, or will Indoensia face another year of international outcries?
(brl/red)
