“A drug dealer’s crime is of the same magnitude as that of a terrorist. It’s just that terrorist’s bomb, like those in the Bali Nightclubs in 2002, killed 202 people in one night – the impact is sudden. The evil effects of drug takes longer to manifest themselves but are just as deadly, and, in many ways, more deadly, as they affect generations to come.”- Judge Arif Supratman
We will post two
articles on Indonesian Activists protesting outside the Australian Embassy in
Jakarta, Indonesia.
Indonesian
activists hold protest against Tony Abbott: ‘Go to hell with your druggies’
February 27, 2015
AS AUSTRALIA’S relationship with
Indonesia teeters on the brink, activists in Jakarta have sent a clear message
to Prime Minister Tony Abbott: “Go to hell with your druggies”.
Continuing anger over remarks made by
Mr Abbott in a plea to spare Bali Nine ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran
Sukumaran echoed through the streets of Jakarta on Wednesday, when hundreds of
Indonesian activists staged a protest outside the Australian Embassy.
Indonesia: Protesters throw 'druggie' Tony Abbott
BEHIND BARS at Jakarta protest
Published on Feb 25, 2015
Hundreds of Indonesian
activists staged a protest against Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott
outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta on Wednesday. The protest comes
following the prime minister's remarks last week demanding Indonesia to pardon
two Australian death row inmates as a mark of gratitude for Australian aid to
the country following the 2004 tsunami.
VIDEO SOURCE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nQbblQnvGQ
Abbott has
indicated that Indonesia will face diplomatic consequences if it executes two
Australians on death row after being convicted of trafficking drugs. Picture:
Dita Alangkara Source: AP
|
The protest came in defiance of Mr
Abbott’s reminder last week of the billions of dollars in aid spent to help the
country post-Boxing Day tsunami in 2004.
“Let’s not forget that a few years ago
when Indonesia was struck by the Indian Ocean tsunami, Australia sent a billion
dollars worth of assistance,” Mr Abbott said.
“We sent a significant contingent of
our armed forces to help in Indonesia with humanitarian relief and Australians
lost their lives in that campaign to help Indonesia.
“We will be making our displeasure
known, we will be letting Indonesia know in absolutely unambiguous terms that
we will feel grievously let down.”
Now the tables have turned, and
Indonesia is making its displeasure known, tying a fake Tony Abbott figurine to
a mock jail cell with signs reading, “We are freedom
country, go to hell Abbott and druggies”.
“Abbott love druggies, we
hate druggies,”
another read.
“Mr Abbott, take care with
your mouth. Don’t ruin Indonesia-Australia friendship.”
Indonesian Muslim
students hold up anti-Abbott posters. Picture: Dita Alangkara Source: AP
|
A mock Tony Abbott
is imprisoned in a Jakarta protest. Picture: Adek Berry Source: AFP
|
Yet that night, Mr Abbott confirmed he
had a “positive” conversation with Indonesia’s president Joko Widodo.
“Suffice to say that the President
absolutely understands our position and I think he is carefully considering
Indonesia’s position,” Mr Abbott said.
“I don’t want to raise hope that might
turn out to be dashed. It was a positive sign that the conversation took place.
“The fact that the President of
Indonesia and the Prime Minister of Australia can talk candidly about these
issues is a sign of the strength of the relationship.”
Meanwhile, eight army tanks are
reportedly on standby in Denpasar to remove Chan and Sukumaran from Kerobokan
Prison and deliver them to the airport for transfer to the prison island of
Nusakambangan, where the men will face a firing squad, reports News Corp’s Paul Toohey.
The date and time of the execution is
“riddled with uncertainty”, he writes.
“What we want is the sooner
the better,”
Bali’s chief prosecutor Momock Bambang Samiarso said.
“If they (Nusakambangan) can
be fast, we’ll be fast too.”
'Go to hell with your druggies': Indonesian protesters storm Australian embassy in Jakarta after Tony Abbott's plea to spare Bali Nine duo
- Young Indonesians have staged a defiant protest against Tony Abbott
- Hundreds of students and other protesters carried signs that read slogans including 'Abbott love druggies, we hate druggies!'
- Protest staged outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta on Wednesday
Young
Indonesians have staged a defiant protest against Tony Abbott and his campaign
to save Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan from the death penalty outside the
Australian embassy in Jakarta.
Hundreds of
students and other protesters carried signs that read slogans including 'Go to
hell Abbott with your druggies' and 'Abbott love druggies, we hate druggies!'
during the demonstration in Indonesia's capital on Wednesday.
The
anti-drug protesters also held signs warning Mr Abbott to watch his words, in
response to his comments that Indonesia should pardon the Bali Nine duo to
'reciprocate' the $1 billion aid Australia sent after the 2004 Indian Ocean
tsunami.
Protesters hold
banners during a rally to protest against Tony Abbott in Jakarta on Wednesday
|
A man wearing a
mask depicting Mr Abbott stands behind a bamboo fence during the student
protest
|
Earlier this
week, Indonesian students burnt pictures of Mr Abbott and collected coins to
'repay' the aid in other protests at Malang Square, eastern Java.
On Wednesday, a man wearing a Tony Abbott mask and
walking behind a set of mock prison bars led protesters carrying signs that
read 'Mr Abbott take care with your mouth. Don't ruin Indonesia-Australia
friendship', 'We are freedom country' and 'Keep against druggies – Abbott'.
This comes
amid reports Chan and Sukumaran are keeping their spirits up even as
authorities around them say they should come to terms with Indonesia's
determination to execute them soon.
Kerobokan
jail governor Sudjonggo says he has no word on when they will be transferred to
Nusakambangan, the island Indonesia is preparing for the executions of the Bali
Nine pair and eight other drug offenders.
Muslim activists
hold banners against Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott as they shout slogans
|
Last week
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who was been leading the diplomatic campaign to
save the duo, was forced to clarify that Australian was not threatening to
withdraw foreign aid to Indonesia should Chan and Sukumaran be executed.
Mr Abbott
said: 'We will be letting Indonesia know in absolutely unambiguous terms that
we feel grievously let down.
'Let's not
forget that a few years ago, when Indonesia was struck by the Indian Ocean
tsunami, Australia sent a billion dollars' worth of assistance, we sent a
significant contingent of our armed forces to help in Indonesia with humanitarian
relief, and Australians lost their lives in that campaign to help Indonesia.
'I would
say to the Indonesian people and the government, we in Australia are always
there to help you and we hope that you might reciprocate in this way at this
time.'
Tony Abbott
called the Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Wednesday night and described
the conversation over the fate of the two Australians on death row as
positive.
Elementary school
students collect donations in a drive against Australian Prime Minister Tony
Abbott's recent statement on tsunami aid
|
Indonesians are organising drives to collect coins in a bid to return the $1 billion given as aid by Australia |
'Suffice it to say that the president absolutely understands our position,' Mr Abbott said.
Mr Abbott said of his conversation on Wednesday he
thought President Widodo was carefully considering Indonesia's position.
'I don't think it would help the case of these two
young Australians if I was to start ventilating in public the contents of the
conversation,' he told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.
The president previously rejected clemency for
convicted drug runners Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.
It comes as
lawyers for the Bali Nine duo lodged an appeal after they lost a bid to
challenge Indonesia's presidential decree to spare the men from execution on
Tuesday.
Their
lawyers now have 14 days to lodge an appeal, according to one of their lawyers
Peter Morrissey.
'(Indonesia)
have a court system, they have a rule of law and when you have the rule of law
it stands to reason that you just don't execute the people who are litigating,'
Mr Morrissey said.
'So what we
think will happen is that the Indonesian executive will likely cooperate with
the rule of law and act in accordance with it and not do anything drastic
unless all legal impediments really are removed. And right now there is a live
appeal on foot.
'We are
very hopeful about it, you know. We are not going to give up. Even if we had no
hope we wouldn't give up. But we do have hope because the argument is a
sensible good argument.'
Australia's
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop revealed on Wednesday that Sukumaran's mother
hugged her tightly and begged her to save her son from the firing squad.
'My last
meeting with Mrs Sukumaran she hugged me so tightly I could hardly breathe,' Ms
Bishop told Nine's Today show.
'No person
could fail to be touched by the anguish of the families.'
Indonesian protesters
storm Australian embassy in Jakarta
'Go
to hell with your druggies': Indonesian protesters storm Australian embassy in
Jakarta after Tony Abbott's plea to spare Bali Nine duo
VIDEO SOURCE: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2i79bh
& http://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/news/video-1162935/Indonesian-protesters-storm-Australian-embassy-Jakarta.html
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