Friday, April 10, 2015

JOKO WIDODO DESERVED THE RAYNER GODDARD ACT OF COURAGE AWARD



Imagine every day we have 50 people die because of narcotics, because of drugs. In one year, it's 18,000 people who die because of narcotics. And we are not going to compromise for drug dealers. No compromise. No compromise. The decision of death penalty is on the court. But they can ask for amnesty to the president. But I tell you, there will be no amnesty for drug dealers.

- Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, the president of Indonesia


The current President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo deserved the Rayner Goddard Act of Courage Award, he defended the use of the death penalty. We, the comrades of Unit 1012, advise the Head of States to learn from Widodo on how he defended the use of capital punishment.


Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, the president of Indonesia




Indonesian president steadfast on executions


Joko Widodo defends his decision to reject clemency for foreign drug smugglers in exclusive interview with Al Jazeera.

06 Mar 2015 13:50 GMT | Politics, Indonesia, Australia, Asia Pacific, Law


Widodo told Al Jazeera that he was not swayed by the nationality of convicts on death row [Syarina Hasibuan/Al Jazeera]
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has defended his decision to reject clemency for drug smugglers on death row, but says he is open to abolishing the death penalty if the Indonesian people wanted change.

In an exclusive one-one-one interview with Al Jazeera correspondent Step Vaessen, set to air at 04:30GMT on Saturday, Widodo said "as a human being I feel it too" when asked about the executions which are set to take place soon.

But he said he also felt the "suffering of those parents whose children are addicted to drugs".

The planned executions of Australians Myuran Sukumaran, 33, and Andrew Chan, 31, have sparked diplomatic tension between the two neighbours after Australia's repeated pleas for mercy on their behalf.

The two men, who were convicted of drug smuggling in 2005, are part of a group of up to 11 convicts, mostly foreigners, due to be executed on the prison island of Nusakambangan. A date for the executions has not been announced.

Widodo explained his decision for rejecting the drug smugglers' appeals for clemency, saying that he was not swayed by the nationality of the convicts, nor the lobbying of their country's government.

"I believe the Indonesian legal system is thorough in these cases and looks at the evidence," he told our correspondent.

"When I rejected clemency I took into consideration how many drugs they smuggled, how many pills they distributed.... The court has sentenced them and we cannot discriminate between countries."

'Millions in rehab'

Widodo said there were currently 4.5 million people in drug rehabilitation programmes, including "at least 1.5 million people who cannot be cured".

"This is the picture of Indonesia’s future, our next generation. We want to send a strong message to drug smugglers that Indonesia is firm and serious in tackling the drug problem and one of the consequences is execution if the court sentences them to death," he said.

"Most importantly, our diplomats can explain to other countries the urgency of our drug problem in Indonesia. Explain to them about the conditions here, that drugs are entering villages, ruining our young ones, are being sold at campuses, even universities have drug problems. This is an emergency."

Despite his strong defence of the decision to execute the two Australians and other drug smugglers, Widodo said he would continue to lobby foreign governments to save Indonesian citizens from the death penalty when convicted of crimes overseas.

“As a head of state of course I’m going to try to save my citizens from execution," he said.

"That’s my obligation as a president, as a head of state....To protect my citizens who are facing the death penalty but on the other hand we have to respect other countries that apply capital punishment....

"The constitution and the existing law still allows the death penalty. But, if the Indonesian people want to change it in the future, then it’s possible, why not?"

Indonesian President Joko Widodo's full interview on Talk to Al Jazeera will be broadcast at 04:30GMT on Saturday March 7.
 

Now we have 4.5 million people in rehab and at least 1.5 million people who cannot be cured. This is the picture of Indonesia's future, our next generation .... Drugs are entering villages, ruining our young ones, are being sold at campuses; even universities have drug problems. This is an emergency.

Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, the president of Indonesia

Joko Widodo: 'A strong message to drug smugglers'

The president of Indonesia shares his views on the country's drug problem, capital punishment, religion and the economy.

07 Mar 2015 10:21 GMT | Human Rights, Politics, Indonesia, Drugs, ISIL

He was called the "president of the people" when he was inaugurated four-and-a-half months ago. Former furniture seller Joko Widodo, also known as "Jokowi", is a metal music lover and former mayor and governor, who stood out for his hands-on leadership style.

After a tough election campaign and a narrow win, expectations were high that a new wind would soon blow in the world's fourth largest country and third largest democracy of 250 million people.

But a hostile opposition and rocky coalition provided Widodo with a weak power base. His party leader, Megawati Sukarnoputri, is often jokingly called the country's "real" president.

And Widodo shocked many after he nominated a man charged with corruption as his new police chief. Since August 2014, Widodo's approval ratings have dropped from 71.73 percent by about 30 percent.

Widodo has also raised diplomatic tensions – in particular with Australia – with his firm stance on executing drug traffickers, most of them foreigners.

He tells Al Jazeera's Step Vassen: "I believe the Indonesian legal system is thorough in these cases and looks at the evidence. When I rejected clemency I took into consideration how many drugs they smuggled, how many pills they distributed .... The court has sentenced them and we cannot discriminate between countries."

Widodo remains steadfast in his decision to carry out the death sentences of 11 convicts - including two Australian nationals from the "Bali nine" drug smuggling ring - due to be executed on the prison island of Nusakambangan.

"We want to send a strong message to drug smugglers that Indonesia is firm and serious in tackling the drug problem, and one of the consequences is execution if the court sentences them to death, he says."

He also discusses his strategy on campaigning for the release of Indonesian citizens on death row and says he is open to the idea of abolishing the death penalty if that is what the country wants. Just this week, Indonesian diplomats at a Human Rights Council panel in Geneva said a ban on the death sentence could be reinstated.

"As a head of state of course I'm going to try to save my citizens from execution. That's my obligation as a president, as a head of state ... To protect my citizens who are facing the death penalty but on the other hand we have to respect other countries that apply capital punishment ... The constitution and the existing law still allow the death penalty. But if the Indonesian people want to change it in the future, then it's possible."

In this exclusive interview on Talk to Al Jazeera, the president of Indonesia explains his position on his country's scourge of drugs, religion, ISIL, the economy, and for the first time reveals his willingness to discuss the abolishment of the death penalty.

Bali nine: Megawati tells Joko Widodo not to grant clemency

Jewel Topsfield
Published: March 9, 2015 - 12:39PM
Jakarta: Former Indonesian president Megawati Sukarnoputri has reportedly told the current president not to grant clemency to those on death row, blaming drugs for the spread of HIV in Indonesia.

Ms Megawati is the mentor of President Joko Widodo and the leader of his party, the Indonesian Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Critics have long claimed that Mr Joko is a "puppet president". Ms Megawati is believed to be behind some of his key decisions, including naming graft suspect Budi Gunawan as police chief.

At a speech on International Women's Day, Ms Megawati said drug use in Indonesia had entered a critical state and was the trigger for the spread of HIV.

"I therefore told Jokowi that those who sold drugs and who have been sentenced to death should not got their clemency pleas granted," she was quoted saying on Indonesian news website Kompas.

She said capital punishment for narcotics offences should be seen from the perspective of the victims, with drugs robbing many young Indonesians of their futures.

On December 9, Mr Joko told an audience at Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University that he would reject all clemency petitions for drug felons.

"The clemency requests are not on my table yet. But I guarantee that there will be no clemency for convicts who committed narcotics-related crimes," he said.

The executions have been delayed pending the outcomes of several legal cases being pursued by the 10 felons facing imminent death.

Lawyers for Bali nine duo Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran are this week appealing against the rejection of the Australians' clemency pleas on the basis the president did not consider their cases on an individual basis or consider their rehabilitation.

The Administrative Court ruled earlier this month it did not have jurisdiction over presidential decisions. However an appeal to this finding will be heard on Thursday.

The families of Chan and Sukumaran are due to visit the men on the penal island of Nusakambangan on Monday morning for the first time since they were transferred from Bali.
Meanwhile, four naval warships that were in Bali waters for the transfer of the Bali nine duo, are now heading to Nusakambangan to secure the area ahead of the executions.

"We've been here for a week to provide a feeling of security for the people of Bali from any threat because the drug death convicts were jailed in Bali," Letkol Laut Daru Cahyo Sumirat, the commander of the Diponegoro-365 warship was quoted saying on news website Detik. "This is for the sake of the nation's integrity in the eyes of the world. We will show that Indonesia is serious in upholding the law."

The Australian government has complained about an excessive show of military force during the transfer of Chan and Sukumaran to Nusakambangan.

"It seemed that our citizens were singled out for treatment designed to maximise publicity that was certainly at odds with the treatment of other citizens of other countries in the same position," Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop said.


  • April 7, 2015, 7:02 AM SGT

Widodo Earns Indonesian Approval for Death Penalty Stance

ByAnita Rachman

 

A member of the security wing of Nahdlatul Ulama, an Islamic organisation, carries a placard that says “drug offenders = death,” during a small rally outside the ferry port to the prison island of Nusakambangan, where a group of drug offenders are due to be executed, in Cilacap, Central Java, on March 12.
Darren Whiteside/Reuters
JAKARTA, Indonesia—The majority of Indonesians say they support President Joko Widodo’s decision to enforce the death penalty for drug traffickers, according to a survey released amid appeals for clemency from several death row drug convicts.


Jakarta-based survey agency Indo Barometer found that almost 85% of survey respondents said they support Mr. Widodo’s firm stance on the death penalty, while more than 84% of respondents said they agreed with the death penalty for drug traffickers and dealers. Indonesia’s penal code lists death as the maximum sentence for the production, import/export or sale of category one narcotics, which include opium, heroin and marijuana.

The reason the majority of people surveyed (60.8%) gave for supporting the death penalty for drug offenses was because they believe that drugs ruin young people, said Indo Barometer’s executive director Muhammad Qodari. Almost 24% of them said that capital punishment would provide a deterrent effect.

“Indonesians see that drugs now reach so many areas; areas that they haven’t thought before, such as schools,” Mr. Qodari said.

President Widodo has repeatedly denied requests for clemency from Australia and several other countries with citizens on death row in Indonesia, saying he is trying to combat a drug emergency in his country.

On Monday Jakarta’s high administrative court rejected a final appeal effort from Australians Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, saying clemency is the prerogative of the president.

The two men are among 10 convicted drug smugglers whose executions were delayed last month because of judicial challenges by six inmates seeking to appeal Mr. Widodo’s clemency rejections.

The international community and celebrities have also called on Mr. Widodo to reconsider his decision, but Mr. Qodari said international pressure hardly affects Indonesian public opinion.

In fact, he said, it helps strengthen feelings of nationalism that benefit Mr. Widodo.

In the same survey released Monday, Indo Barometer found that the president’s approval rating after almost six months in office was 57.5% – higher than a January survey by the Indonesia Survey Circle, which found only 42% of Indonesians said were satisfied with the president’s performance.

Mr. Qodari said the death penalty policy definitely contributed positively to the president’s approval rating.

Aside from drug trafficking, 53% of survey respondents said they were in favor of the death sentence for corruption, murder (16.3%) and sexual crimes (4.25%). Corruption and sexual crimes are not currently punishable by death.

Indo Barometer’s survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews of 1,200 people from March 15 to 25 in all Indonesia’s 34 provinces.


Joko Widodo: 'A strong message to drug smugglers'
Published on Mar 7, 2015

The president of Indonesia shares his views on the country's drug problem, capital punishment, religion and the economy.



 


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