Australia may boycott Indonesia if nationals executed: FM
Australians may boycott traveling to Indonesia if Jakarta executes two Australian convicted drug smugglers on death row, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says.
Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were arrested in 2005 and sentenced to death the following year for trying to smuggle heroin out of the Indonesian island of Bali into Australia.
Indonesian authorities are now planning to move Chan and Sukumaran from prison to their execution site.
Bishop described the situation as “very tense” and said Australians may reconsider traveling to Indonesia if Jakarta goes ahead with the execution.
"I think the Australian people will demonstrate their deep disapproval of this action, including by making decisions about where they wish to holiday,” she said.
She added that Australians have been staging vigils and rallies around the country to plead for mercy for the two convicts in Indonesia.
Bishop, however, refused to rule out withdrawing diplomats, saying that “this is a matter still to be considered.”
"My concern is that we want the lines of communication between our ambassador and the Indonesian government to remain open," she said.
The foreign minister pledged that Australia would do everything in its power to stop the executions.
Indonesia has rejected Australian pleas for clemency for Chan and Sukumaran since President Joko Widodo took office last October.
AR/AS
Islamophobia surged since Bondi mass shooting: Australian official
Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh’s first female prime minister, dies at 80
N. Korea, Russia bound in ‘blood of war’: Kim tells Putin in New Year note
Iran pioneers future of wound care with West Asia’s first smart nanocellulose dressing
Enduring bond: How Gen. Soleimani’s loyalty to Ayatollah Khamenei shaped his life and legacy
Israel commits 99 violations against Palestinian journalists in one month: Press union
Spain, five Latin American nations denounce US military aggression against Venezuela
European leaders – touchy about Ukraine – cheer US ‘regime change’ war on Venezuela
Two killed as Israeli drone targets vehicle in southern Lebanon
Latin America should unite or face being ‘treated as slaves’ by US: Colombia president
VIDEO | Iran's Leader backs legitimate protests in address on Social Justice
PressTV NEWSLETTER
now
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
