Here in Australia the entire emphasis of the media is concentrated on the fate of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran awaiting execution in Indonesia, but in reality there were sixty-four prisoners on death row in that country, now reduced to fifty eight because six were recently placed before the firing squad.
The latest news is that all the remaining prisoners have been granted at least another week of life because three State Administrative Court judges have demanded a letter from the Indonesian Attorney General validating that President Joko Widowo authorised the legal team that will appear before them.
Indonesia is fast looking ridiculous in the International community. This matter of executions has descended into an unseemly tussle between a newly elected president and a former strongman who is now opposition leader to determine who has the prime "tough guy " image. Having stated that he will not grant clemency, Widowo has painted himself into a corner. He is being assailed by everybody from the leaders of Islam to figures such as the Pope. Richard Branson, United Nations agencies and vast sections of the world public to show mercy and grant reprieves. There is even a growing consensus within Indonesia that sending drug offenders to the firing squad is now out of step with the democratic process.
It has been stated that no executions will take place until all the appeals in the system have been finally settled, and that looks likely to drag on for weeks - and possibly months. The two Australians have been moved from Bali to Nusakambangan prison on an island off the coast of Java, known as "Indonesia's Alcatraz ". It seems that Chan and Sukumaran will wait in the death cells as events play out in the court system and their loved ones will be forced into penury, stranded across the water and only allowed periodic visits to this forbidding island prison. In the eyes of many, this seems a form of torture. The promise of remission forever dangles before their eyes - and is constantly snatched away.
A new drama is entertaining the world masses following these events. Andrew Chan and a beautiful Indonesian girl have found love together and it seems likely that they may seek permission to wed on that grim prison island. Such a "last request " may be acceded - or denied, but it will certainly have the world media in a frenzy. Already, the issue of "rehabilitation "of those who have committed a crime is fast overtaking the notion of ending a life as the preferred punishment. The list of countries still holding out the death penalty is steadily dwindling.
It has not been helpful that some Indonesian politicians have suggested that their country may end cooperation with Australia and send a "Tsunami " of asylum seekers to our shores unless we drop appeals for clemency. Chan and Sukumaran have spent the past ten years living in a virtual goldfish bowl. Their life in a Bali prison has been open to the media and they had become the poster boys of rehabilitation - living a new life helping other prisoners and increasing their skills and education. Sukumaran in particular has emerged as a promising artist.
Basically, the fate of those fifty eight human beings slated for execution in Indonesia is a matter of pure politics. The decision of whether they live or die rests in the hands of just one man, President Joko Widowo. He came to power in a struggle between the military side and the civilian side of thinking in his country - and he promised change.
At the moment, his decision has been on the side of executions. In the annals of world history, many great men have received acclaim because they have had the courage to change their mind and take their country on a new course. That opportunity awaits this President !
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