REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesian lawmaker T.B. Hasanuddin expressed regret over UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's statement, which intervenes in the Indonesian government's plan to execute some foreign death row convicts mostly involved in drug-related crimes.

"The statement by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, which interferes in Indonesia's execution plan, is very regrettable," he stated in a press release, here, Tuesday.

The death sentence is a positive punishment in line with the existing laws in Indonesia, so the UN secretary general should not intervene as it is not related to a conflict between the two countries, he noted.

Several countries including Malaysia and even the United States still impose capital punishment, but he said the UN secretary general had never interfered, he claimed.

He suspected that Ban Ki-moon was being pressured by Australia, France, and Brazil.

Ban Ki-moon's statement could lower the UN's credibility as he never intervened in the executions carried out in other countries, he affirmed.

A spokesman for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement on April 25 urging the Government of Indonesia to refrain from carrying out the execution, as announced, of the nine prisoners on death row for alleged drug-related crimes.

In accordance with the international law, if death penalty is to be granted at all, it should only be imposed for the most heinous of crimes, such as for those involved in intentional killings and only with appropriate safeguards, Ban emphasized.

"Drug-related offenses are generally not considered to fall under the category of 'most serious crimes'," he noted in the statement.

Recalling that the United Nations opposes the death penalty in all circumstances, the secretary-general urges President Joko Widodo to urgently consider declaring a moratorium on capital punishment in Indonesia, with a view towards abolition, it added.

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