The Indonesian Attorney-General has today flagged a “short delay” in the executions of the Bali Nine pair.
The delay is good news — but the stress that these young men and their families must be feeling as the slow wheels of Indonesian bureaucracy grind on is verging on cruel and unusual punishment.
As Australians express outrage at their impending death, it’s worth considering that the police who do eventually shoot and kill Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan likely received Australian training.
Australia trains Indonesian police at the Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Co-operation, which was set up in the wake of the Bali bombing to strengthen Indonesia’s counter-terror effort.
The centre was paid for by Australia and continues to receive millions directly from the Australian Federal Police’s own budget.
Australia’s training and funding of the Indonesian military and police has long been controversial — both organisations are known for their corruption and brutality, especially against independence activists in East Timor, West Papua and the Maluku islands.
If the executions go ahead, this direct link between Australian assistance and the system that executed two of our citizens should be closely examined.
Every day this whole business becomes more and more bizarre.
That we are now being told taxpayer’s money trained the Indonesian executioners, is beyond words.
The AFP have a lot to answer for.
It seems that Australia’s budget holiday playground comes with a hidden surcharge.
Reckon it stopped at the AFP? That it didn’t go higher?
The two drug traffickers stood to gain a great deal of money from their risky undertaking. The death penalty makes for a high risk/ high profit adventure. Unfortunately, they lost the bet and now face the death penalty. I don’t have any sympathy for them. I don’t gamble, and neither should they have gambled with their lives.
I’m opposed to the death penalty and I expect our government to provide the same consular assistance they provide to any Australian in trouble overseas, but no more.
Our best bargaining chip in this sorry saga would be to threaten to start listening to the plight of the West Papuans and giving their spokespersons a hearing.