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Abbott warns of fraying ties as executions loom in Indonesia

CANBERRA — Indonesia’s pending executions of two Australians has hurt the two nations’ relationship, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said yesterday, after the duo were moved to an island prison, where they will face a firing squad.

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CANBERRA — Indonesia’s pending executions of two Australians has hurt the two nations’ relationship, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said yesterday, after the duo were moved to an island prison, where they will face a firing squad.

“Millions of Australians are feeling sick in their guts at the prospect of execution” for Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, Mr Abbott told reporters near Canberra. The pair were among a group of nine Australians arrested on the Indonesian island of Bali in 2005 for attempting to carry 8kg of heroin through the airport.

Sukumaran and Chan were flown from Bali to Java and arrived with a special security escort at Nusa Kambangan island in Central Java, said Indonesian Attorney-General HM Prasetyo. The government has not decided on the date for the executions, he added.

Rhetoric between the neighbours, which have a history of diplomatic rift and repair, intensified this month after Mr Abbott’s repeated pleas for clemency, with the Australian leader saying the executions were beneath Indonesia. Sentiment in his nation has swung towards Sukumaran and Chan amid media reports that they have been reformed, while Amnesty International earlier said the executions would be a setback to Indonesia’s promise to improve human rights.

“The longer it’s taken for the executions to occur, the more Australian sentiment has changed to being sympathetic to their plight and against these deaths,” said Mr Greg Fealy, an associate professor at Canberra’s Australian National University. “While the tougher statements from Abbott show he is mindful of public pressure over this issue, he’ll be aware he doesn’t want to cause real damage to the relationship with Indonesia.”

Tensions increased between Australia and Indonesia on Feb 18 when Abbott identified the A$1 billion (S$1.07 billion) in aid to the nation after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami as a reason for the executions not to proceed. Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry said in turn that “no one responds well to threats”.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has repeatedly said he will not show mercy to convicted drug smugglers.

“Imagine, every day, 50 of our people, 50, die (from drug-related illness),” he said in an interview on Feb 2 in Jakarta. “(In) one year, 18,000 people die,” he said. “For me, there is no compromise.”

Indonesia’s government said in December it would put to death 64 convicts. It executed six people in January for drug trafficking, including several foreigners, ignoring a plea for clemency from Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and prompting the Latin American nation and the Netherlands to recall their ambassadors.

Indonesia also plans to execute drug convicts from France, Ghana and Indonesia in the next round, Mr Prasetyo said.

Australia has made more than 50 appeals for clemency for the duo, part of the so-called Bali Nine. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said executing the two men would be a grave injustice, saying their legal appeals against their sentencing were still pending.

“It would be unacceptable, indeed unthinkable, for the proposed executions to go ahead while there’s still legal avenues available to them,” Ms Bishop said in a Sky News interview yesterday.

Ties between Australia and Indonesia hit a bump in 2013 after revelations that Australia spied on then-President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono by tapping his phone. In response, Indonesia severed defence and people-smuggling agreements. The dispute threatened to disrupt trade, including cattle shipments from Australia.

Last August, the two countries agreed to resume intelligence sharing and announced a code of conduct on military cooperation.

Relations previously soured during Indonesian President Sukarno’s rule in the 1960s and after Australian journalists were killed in the 1970s, in what is now East Timor. Indonesia reacted angrily in 1999 when Australia led international military support to restore order in East Timor after its independence from Indonesia. BLOOMBERG

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