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| A year after the Bali Nine executions, Indonesia prepares firing squads again | A year after the Bali Nine executions, Indonesia prepares firing squads again |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| There’s chatter that it’s on. | There’s chatter that it’s on. |
| Talk that the death squad is at the ready; that a new, bigger execution ground is in the making. Officials say it could be just weeks away. | Talk that the death squad is at the ready; that a new, bigger execution ground is in the making. Officials say it could be just weeks away. |
| And after the circus last year, the security minister Luhut Panjaitan hopes there will be less “drama” this time around. | And after the circus last year, the security minister Luhut Panjaitan hopes there will be less “drama” this time around. |
| One year after the international uproar and the diplomatic fallout over the execution of eight drug traffickers – including two Australian men, Bali Nine pair Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran – it appears more executions could be on Indonesia’s horizon this year. Among the foreigners on death row in Indonesia are two Britons, convicted drug smugglers Lindsay Sandiford and Gareth Cashmore. | One year after the international uproar and the diplomatic fallout over the execution of eight drug traffickers – including two Australian men, Bali Nine pair Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran – it appears more executions could be on Indonesia’s horizon this year. Among the foreigners on death row in Indonesia are two Britons, convicted drug smugglers Lindsay Sandiford and Gareth Cashmore. |
| “I still don’t want to believe it,” says lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis, who this time last year was fighting to save the lives of Chan and Sukumaran. “Yes, there will probably be a statement, but in the end I don’t think there will be any executions. I refuse to believe it.” | “I still don’t want to believe it,” says lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis, who this time last year was fighting to save the lives of Chan and Sukumaran. “Yes, there will probably be a statement, but in the end I don’t think there will be any executions. I refuse to believe it.” |
| After 14 prisoners were executed at dawn in two separate rounds in early 2015, a third round has been on hold for the past year, ostensibly for economic reasons, but perhaps, in part, for political ones, too. | After 14 prisoners were executed at dawn in two separate rounds in early 2015, a third round has been on hold for the past year, ostensibly for economic reasons, but perhaps, in part, for political ones, too. |
| Yet after whatever fallout there might have been, Australia’s recalled ambassador has returned (after a five-week protest), and executions are back on the agenda. | Yet after whatever fallout there might have been, Australia’s recalled ambassador has returned (after a five-week protest), and executions are back on the agenda. |
| This month, even as Indonesia was being booed at the United Nations for reiterating its support for the death penalty for drug offenders – a punitive action that runs counter to international law – the attorney general Muhammad Prasetyo indicated that another round would go ahead. | This month, even as Indonesia was being booed at the United Nations for reiterating its support for the death penalty for drug offenders – a punitive action that runs counter to international law – the attorney general Muhammad Prasetyo indicated that another round would go ahead. |
| British prime minister David Cameron said he had raised the case of Sandiford – the English woman sentenced to death for smuggling almost 4kg of cocaine into Bali – during an official visit to Jakarta last year. But on Jokowi’s return visit to London earlier this month, there were no indications that her case – or that of fellow death row Briton Gareth Cashmore – was revisited. | |
| When questioned on the matter by German chancellor Angela Merkel on a recent visit to Berlin, Indonesian president Joko Widodo, or Jokowi, defended capital punishment as a justified approach to the country’s “drug emergency”. | When questioned on the matter by German chancellor Angela Merkel on a recent visit to Berlin, Indonesian president Joko Widodo, or Jokowi, defended capital punishment as a justified approach to the country’s “drug emergency”. |
| There is nothing definitive yet, no date, and no official list of the next prisoners to face the firing squad: the Indonesian government is keeping its cards close to the chest. But some are still operating on the assumption that it is probably just a matter of time. | There is nothing definitive yet, no date, and no official list of the next prisoners to face the firing squad: the Indonesian government is keeping its cards close to the chest. But some are still operating on the assumption that it is probably just a matter of time. |
| “The last information we received is that the attorney general has asked the parliament for the budget for the third round,” says Putri Kanesia, from the Jakarta-based human rights organisation Kontras. “But they should stop and evaluate the first and second batch. There were a lot of unfair trials.” | “The last information we received is that the attorney general has asked the parliament for the budget for the third round,” says Putri Kanesia, from the Jakarta-based human rights organisation Kontras. “But they should stop and evaluate the first and second batch. There were a lot of unfair trials.” |
| According to Amnesty International, there were at least 165 people on death row in Indonesia at the end of 2015, and more than 40% of those were sentenced for drug-related crimes. Indonesia has some of the harshest drug laws in the world, and Jokowi has stated that no drug prisoner will receive a pardon from him. | According to Amnesty International, there were at least 165 people on death row in Indonesia at the end of 2015, and more than 40% of those were sentenced for drug-related crimes. Indonesia has some of the harshest drug laws in the world, and Jokowi has stated that no drug prisoner will receive a pardon from him. |
| But the Kontras team is currently pushing to get the case details of one death row prisoner on to the president’s desk. | But the Kontras team is currently pushing to get the case details of one death row prisoner on to the president’s desk. |
| Allegedly tortured in detention, and told by his lawyer that he did not have the right to appeal, Yusman Telaumbanua was, Kontras claims, a minor when the crime for which he was convicted was committed. This would make it illegal to execute him under Indonesian law. | Allegedly tortured in detention, and told by his lawyer that he did not have the right to appeal, Yusman Telaumbanua was, Kontras claims, a minor when the crime for which he was convicted was committed. This would make it illegal to execute him under Indonesian law. |
| “We learned from the experience of Mary Jane Veloso,” explains Kanesia, referring to the last-minute – albeit temporary – reprieve granted by the president to the Filipino woman slated to be killed alongside Chan and Sukumaran a year ago. | “We learned from the experience of Mary Jane Veloso,” explains Kanesia, referring to the last-minute – albeit temporary – reprieve granted by the president to the Filipino woman slated to be killed alongside Chan and Sukumaran a year ago. |
| “We have to give Jokowi information about unfair trials that led to the death penalty,” she says. “Maybe we can make him think twice.” | “We have to give Jokowi information about unfair trials that led to the death penalty,” she says. “Maybe we can make him think twice.” |
| Fresh to the presidency, and to foreign affairs, some say Jokowi failed to anticipate the diplomatic blowback of signing off on the executions last year. The more the international community jumped up and down, the more the stakes were raised – and the harder it became for him to back out without looking weak. | Fresh to the presidency, and to foreign affairs, some say Jokowi failed to anticipate the diplomatic blowback of signing off on the executions last year. The more the international community jumped up and down, the more the stakes were raised – and the harder it became for him to back out without looking weak. |
| The reality, and perhaps the uncomfortable truth for some looking in at Indonesia’s drug policy, is that the executions generated strong support at home. | The reality, and perhaps the uncomfortable truth for some looking in at Indonesia’s drug policy, is that the executions generated strong support at home. |
| Related: 'Am I being executed?' Brazilian killed by Indonesia unaware until end, says priest | Related: 'Am I being executed?' Brazilian killed by Indonesia unaware until end, says priest |
| “I think the discourse around drug policy for Jokowi has always been and continues to be a very political, politically convenient decision,” says Claudia Stoicescu, a doctoral researcher at Oxford University’s centre for evidence-based intervention. | “I think the discourse around drug policy for Jokowi has always been and continues to be a very political, politically convenient decision,” says Claudia Stoicescu, a doctoral researcher at Oxford University’s centre for evidence-based intervention. |
| “He’s seen a lot of support from Indonesians on this kind of punitive discourse, both in terms of drug policy, and this combative language with the war on drugs, but also with the death penalty.” | “He’s seen a lot of support from Indonesians on this kind of punitive discourse, both in terms of drug policy, and this combative language with the war on drugs, but also with the death penalty.” |
| Retrospectively, the lack of diplomatic finesse on the international stage did not do Chan or Sukumaran any favours. | Retrospectively, the lack of diplomatic finesse on the international stage did not do Chan or Sukumaran any favours. |
| “Some statements by [then] prime minister Tony Abbott and also foreign minister Julie Bishop, those probably should not have been made,” Lubis, the Bali Nine lawyer, told the Guardian during an interview at his Jakarta law firm. “Because that offends Indonesia – not only the government, but the Indonesian people. So it was very unfortunate.” | “Some statements by [then] prime minister Tony Abbott and also foreign minister Julie Bishop, those probably should not have been made,” Lubis, the Bali Nine lawyer, told the Guardian during an interview at his Jakarta law firm. “Because that offends Indonesia – not only the government, but the Indonesian people. So it was very unfortunate.” |
| When Abbott implied that Indonesia owed Australia “a favour” in return for the A$1bn donated in aid for the 2004 tsunami, angry Indonesians started a coin collection drive to “pay back” their neighbour. Plastic bags full of silver coins were later delivered to the embassy in Jakarta. | When Abbott implied that Indonesia owed Australia “a favour” in return for the A$1bn donated in aid for the 2004 tsunami, angry Indonesians started a coin collection drive to “pay back” their neighbour. Plastic bags full of silver coins were later delivered to the embassy in Jakarta. |
| Other countries with citizens on Indonesia’s death row have also been forthright in their opposition to Indonesia’s use of firing squads. French president François Hollande said his government was “doing everything to keep Serge Atlaoui alive”; the Frenchman, accused of being the “chemist” for an ecstasy factory outside Jakarta, exhausted all legal appeals in mid-2015. | Other countries with citizens on Indonesia’s death row have also been forthright in their opposition to Indonesia’s use of firing squads. French president François Hollande said his government was “doing everything to keep Serge Atlaoui alive”; the Frenchman, accused of being the “chemist” for an ecstasy factory outside Jakarta, exhausted all legal appeals in mid-2015. |
| British prime minister David Cameron said he had raised the case of Sandiford, who was sentenced to death for smuggling almost 4kg of cocaine into Bali – during an official visit to Jakarta last year. But on Jokowi’s return visit to London earlier this month, there were no indications that her case – or that of fellow death row Briton Cashmore – was revisited. | British prime minister David Cameron said he had raised the case of Sandiford, who was sentenced to death for smuggling almost 4kg of cocaine into Bali – during an official visit to Jakarta last year. But on Jokowi’s return visit to London earlier this month, there were no indications that her case – or that of fellow death row Briton Cashmore – was revisited. |
| But a year on, and holding a stronger position in the parliament, it might not be as politically advantageous for Jokowi to conduct further executions in 2016. | But a year on, and holding a stronger position in the parliament, it might not be as politically advantageous for Jokowi to conduct further executions in 2016. |
| Lubis – who recently agreed to take on Sandiford’s case – is optimistic that the president might be re-evaluating his hardline stance. | Lubis – who recently agreed to take on Sandiford’s case – is optimistic that the president might be re-evaluating his hardline stance. |
| “Now I believe he understands the pressure, the criticisms. And that has probably made the attorney general a bit more cautious,” he says, “Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan were executed on 29 April last year, so this is going to be the first anniversary. So I guess they feel the heat.” | “Now I believe he understands the pressure, the criticisms. And that has probably made the attorney general a bit more cautious,” he says, “Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan were executed on 29 April last year, so this is going to be the first anniversary. So I guess they feel the heat.” |
| Related: Joko Widodo defends executions as 'positive' for Indonesia | Related: Joko Widodo defends executions as 'positive' for Indonesia |
| But do they? The president and his government have continued their enthusiastic drug crusade, with Jokowi reiterating just weeks ago on the global stage that between 30and 50 Indonesians die each day because of drugs. | But do they? The president and his government have continued their enthusiastic drug crusade, with Jokowi reiterating just weeks ago on the global stage that between 30and 50 Indonesians die each day because of drugs. |
| Last November, the head of the National Narcotics Agency, BNN, even outlandishly suggested that drug offenders should be placed on a prison island surrounded by crocodiles and piranhas. | Last November, the head of the National Narcotics Agency, BNN, even outlandishly suggested that drug offenders should be placed on a prison island surrounded by crocodiles and piranhas. |
| Yet a look at the numbers shows that Indonesia might not be facing a drug emergency at all. According to the 2015 UNODC World Drug Report, Indonesia is on the lower end of the scale when it comes to drug usage around the region, and certainly ranks far lower than north America and Australia. | Yet a look at the numbers shows that Indonesia might not be facing a drug emergency at all. According to the 2015 UNODC World Drug Report, Indonesia is on the lower end of the scale when it comes to drug usage around the region, and certainly ranks far lower than north America and Australia. |
| “No, there is certainly isn’t an emergency,” says Stoicescu, who has done the breakdown in her research. “In that sense, the way he [Jokowi] has used the numbers and the statistics has also been in a very selective, opportunistic way, to lend credibility to these political aims.” | “No, there is certainly isn’t an emergency,” says Stoicescu, who has done the breakdown in her research. “In that sense, the way he [Jokowi] has used the numbers and the statistics has also been in a very selective, opportunistic way, to lend credibility to these political aims.” |
| Professor Irwanto, a psychologist at Atma Jaya University in Jakarta, agrees the war on drugs talk is not only misguided, but counterproductive. The government, he argues, should shift its resources toward harm reduction, rehabilitation, and education, approaches that have helped countries with far worse drug problems than Indonesia. | Professor Irwanto, a psychologist at Atma Jaya University in Jakarta, agrees the war on drugs talk is not only misguided, but counterproductive. The government, he argues, should shift its resources toward harm reduction, rehabilitation, and education, approaches that have helped countries with far worse drug problems than Indonesia. |
| Ultimately, there could be an escape from the death penalty for drug offenders, but it could come too late for most. A provision in the new draft of the Indonesian criminal code, which could allow for inmates to have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment if they are rehabilitated after 10 years, is currently awaiting debate by the Indonesian parliament. | Ultimately, there could be an escape from the death penalty for drug offenders, but it could come too late for most. A provision in the new draft of the Indonesian criminal code, which could allow for inmates to have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment if they are rehabilitated after 10 years, is currently awaiting debate by the Indonesian parliament. |
| The new draft is a so-called “priority” bill, but given the house of representatives managed to pass only three laws in total in 2015, it is likely to be years before it is even discussed. | The new draft is a so-called “priority” bill, but given the house of representatives managed to pass only three laws in total in 2015, it is likely to be years before it is even discussed. |
| That Chan and Sukumaran were rehabilitated failed to save them, but a year on, Lubis is still grappling with why they were killed at all. | That Chan and Sukumaran were rehabilitated failed to save them, but a year on, Lubis is still grappling with why they were killed at all. |
| “I still, you know, find it difficult to reconcile with myself because I know they were changed. They became very reformed people. So they did not deserve to die,” he says. | “I still, you know, find it difficult to reconcile with myself because I know they were changed. They became very reformed people. So they did not deserve to die,” he says. |
| “So I am still struggling to have peace with myself.” | “So I am still struggling to have peace with myself.” |