Indonesia Executes Six Drug Traffickers, More Planned

By Jeralyn, Section Death Penalty
Posted on Sat Jan 17, 2015 at 08:39:18 PM EST
Tags: Indonesia, Bali, Kerobokan, Death Penalty (all tags)

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R.I.P. Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira (Brazil), Ang Kiem Soei (The Netherlands), Daniel Enemuo (Nigeria), Namaona Denis (Malawi), Tran Thi Bich Hanh (Vietnam) and Rani Andriani (Indonesia.) Despite pleas from governmental leaders and world-wide criticism, the four men and two women were executed just after midnight in Indonesia. There are 58 more convicted drug offenders on Indonesia's death row.

For background, see my earlier post today here, this from yesterday, this post from a few days ago and this one from over a year ago.

It seems not much has changed in Indonesia. The five who were executed on Nusakambangan Island, in Central Java, were taken from their cells in the dead of night and driven to a remote spot several miles away where they were shot in pairs. Media and families were of those killed were not allowed to be present. Reactions from the governments in the home countries of those killed was swift: [More....]

Reaction from Brazil after the state-sanctioned murders (same link, here):

A spokesman for Brazilian president Dilma Roussef said she was "distressed and outraged" that Indonesia ignored her repeated pleas and executed Archer, who was convicted of smuggling cocaine into Indonesia in 2004.
"Using the death penalty, which is increasingly rejected by the international community, seriously affects relations between our countries," the spokesman said.

Dutch foreign minister Bert Koenders has (temporarily) recalled the Dutch ambassador to Indonesia.

In a statement, he described all six deaths as "terribly sad".

"My heart goes out to their families, for whom this is marks a dramatic end to years of uncertainty," Mr Koenders said. The Netherlands remains opposed to the death penalty."
He said Dutch King Willem-Alexander and prime minister Mark Rutte had been in contact with Mr Widodo on the matter and the government had done "all in its power" to stop the execution.

There are beautiful beaches all over the world. There is no reason to give your tourist dollars to Bali or anywhere else in Indonesia. Not until they stop killing drug traffickers and demolish the hellhole Kerobokan prison.

You can help in other ways. Visit The Mercy Campaign.

I've been writing about Indonesia's unfair drug laws and Bali's Kerobokan prison since Schapelle Corby's arrest in 2005. I can't find them all in one place, but 60 posts on Schapelle and Kerobokan are available here. There are more posts about Kerobokan and some other Bali legal travesties here. Read about the 2012 riots at Kerobokan. I wrote about them for days as they were happening.

This problem is not going away. The executions of Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran of the Bali 9 case could be imminent. The only hope now seems to be getting the President of Indonesia not to rule on Andrew's clemency petition. Under Indonesian law, those who participated in the same crime are to be killed together. While Myuran's clemency has been denied, Andrew's is still pending. Ironically, Myuran Sukumaran was instrumental in getting the cell-blok leaders to co-operate and negotiate with the warden and authorities, and the riots ended. More on that here.

A country that executes drug traffickers while giving early release to convicted terrorists and murderers should be no one's vacation list.

I've been on a campaign to boycott Bali since 2005. I'm not giving up. A country that sentences teens with no prior record to life in prison and young adults to death is a country with an inhumane system of justice that does not deserve to have tourists -- or their dollars.

Kerobokan Prison is an over-crowded prison with inhumane conditions and corrupt guards. No wonder it's called "Hell on Earth."

< Tied to a Wooden Cross, Part Two: Boycott Bali | Martin Luther King Day Open Thread >

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Indonesia Executes Six Drug Traffickers, More Planned | 10 comments (10 topical)

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boycott the US of A (none / 0) (#1)
by leap on Sat Jan 17, 2015 at 09:27:13 PM EST

for its inhumane and racist legal and prison systems. Actually, I believe many are not coming to the US of A, already, because of its horrible and secretive lists and customs at entry points.

A bit different ...and, that's an understatement (none / 0) (#2)
by christinep on Sun Jan 18, 2015 at 10:18:44 AM EST

This isn't about avoiding all places that have flaws, because any person reaching the age of reason knows that every place (and every person) has flaws. To equate imperfection with brutal immorality is to minimize that which is genuinely, repulsively brutal on a scale that is not even comparable to what you suggest, leap.

The significant issue which Jeralyn addresses here deserves much more, Mr/Ms leap, than your rote propaganda. Even were you to be so naïve as to think that all errors or all misguided policies in the world are equal, using that type of excuse to attempt to ignore the Indonesian situation seems disingenuous at best.


If you consider what the US has (5.00 / 2) (#3)
by vml68 on Sun Jan 18, 2015 at 02:19:54 PM EST

To equate imperfection with brutal immorality

subjected the prisoners in Guantanamo to, an imperfection rather than brutal immorality, then IMO, it is you rather than Leap who is being disingenuous.

I made a similar comment to J in one of her earlier posts on the subject. She somewhat addressed the issue in this post of hers.
She says that since we live here, we obviously cannot boycott this country. Very true. But, I do not see her end any of her other posts asking us to boycott the states (32 of them) that do still have the death penalty or asking any of her foreign readership (assuming there are some out there) to boycott the US.

The US touts itself as the beacon of hope and freedom, the country that all others look to for leadership, the shining example of democracy. The superpower. And yet, we are guilty of human rights abuses. How can we hold third world countries to a standard that we with all our advantages don't adhere to?

When Indonesia was struck by the devastating tsunami in 2004 (not to mention the numerous natural disasters since then) many of us here sent $ in aid. Should we not have? After all, does it really make a difference if the $ are in the form of tourist $ as opposed to charity/aid? In both instances the $ help the local population.

We all have causes that we champion, and this is one of J's. I respect that she feels very strongly about this but I find the boycott Bali stance hypocritical.


Priorities and Boycotts (none / 0) (#4)
by christinep on Sun Jan 18, 2015 at 02:53:28 PM EST

Since every country has an imperfection/misguided policy in a defined area--yes, I'm looking at Guantanamo--if you define "hypocrisy" as not being able to boycott because we have been wrong in that area, well ... what you would set up is a result where the status quo can never change ANYWHERE. Since boycotts can be quite successful when direct & focused, priorities count.

In prioritizing whether to boycott: Consider that a lot of people really like the Indonesian beaches and waters ... and that is why a well-publicized boycott that has a direct effect on those tourist dollars is the kind of action that can work. To the extent that one considers potential effectiveness of an action in the boycott form, that tourist-$$$ reality is a big factor, pragmatically.


: Christine, I am sorry to disagree but, (5.00 / 1) (#5)
by fishcamp on Sun Jan 18, 2015 at 04:43:19 PM EST

I rather doubt there will be any type of international boycott of Bali due to their extreme reasons for executions. There are too many people in the world that love that island and could care less about their politics. They are the people that think the death penalty for drugs is what keeps their beaches safe. BTW I have been to Bali three times and would go again, even though I'm against the death penalty. While I admire Jeralyn's stance, I just can't see her idea working.

: Close friends are going to Bali this (none / 0) (#6)
by oculus on Sun Jan 18, 2015 at 05:04:35 PM EST

Spring. Although they are definitely liberal as to politics and anti-death penalty, it seems unlikely these frequent travelers will cancel.

Perhaps, oculus and fishcamp, (none / 0) (#7)
by christinep on Sun Jan 18, 2015 at 06:42:09 PM EST

you are more in touch with the draw of Indonesia--so, more practical about the lure of the waters there--than I have been. I'll cede the point that the obstacles to a successful boycott on the tourism aspect may be steeper than I thought. 'Guess I should follow my own advice about calculating probability of success, realistically.

Not that I will probably ever go, but (none / 0) (#8)
by oculus on Sun Jan 18, 2015 at 11:31:28 PM EST

I was fascinated by an exhibit at rhe Asia Museum in San Francisco, especially the video of funeral practices and pageantry. And the music and antiquities.


: When my friends and I went to Bali (none / 0) (#9)
by fishcamp on Mon Jan 19, 2015 at 06:03:06 AM EST

the first time, it was in 1965 and there were no resorts, drugs, or problems. We stayed in grass shacks on the beach and ate strange local food. We went to surf Uluwato, and were not concerned about politics. In fact I don't think anything politically was happening then, in that remote area.

A bit of background on President Joko (none / 0) (#10)
by Mr Natural on Mon Jan 19, 2015 at 10:22:40 AM EST

NYTimes: For Indonesians, President's Political Outsider Status Loses Its Luster

"It underlines how much of a hostage he is to the other powerful players in his cabinet, in particular [former President, daughter of the country's founder, and chairwoman of Mr. Joko's political party] Megawati," said Edward Aspinall, a professor of politics at the Australian National University in Canberra. "A lot of the focus after he became president was about relations with the opposition in the D.P.R.," the Parliament, "but the real issue is managing his own coalition."