REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Deputy Chairman of House Commission I Ahmad Hanafi Rais stated that the Indonesian Government should calmly accept the Australian Government's decision to recall its ambassador from Jakarta.
"While responding to Australia's stance on the death penalty, the Indonesian Government should keep calm and be confident about its decision to carry out the executions (of two Australian drug convicts). The government should not react excessively," Hanafi said here on Thursday (30/4).
According to Hanafi, the Indonesian Government should avoid taking any action in retaliation for the withdrawal of Australia's ambassador to Indonesia.
"Stay calm and confident because the execution was a legal decision. The execution of convicts is Indonesia's sovereignty that must be respected by its own citizens as well as foreign nationals," he remarked.
He noted that the decision to recall the Australian ambassador to Indonesia is in accordance with the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations.
"As a form of protest, it is reasonable. We had also protested in a similar fashion when Brazil postponed Indonesian Ambassador Toto Riyanto's credential presentation," he emphasized.
Earlier, on Wednesday, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop issued a joint press statement expressing deep regret over the execution of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.
"The government had hoped that Indonesia would show mercy to these young men who had worked hard since their arrests to rehabilitate themselves and improve the lives of other prisoners," they said in the statement published on the website of the Australian embassy in Jakarta Wednesday.
The statement noted that they committed a serious crime, but lengthy prison terms would have been an appropriate punishment, they added.
In jail, Andrew Chan brought comfort and hope to others, and Myuran Sukumaran shared his skills to give prisoners the chance of a better life, the statement said.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran's family and friends at this extremely difficult time," Abbott and Bishop stated.
Australia respects Indonesia's sovereignty, but deeply regrets that Indonesia could not extend the mercy it so often seeks for its own citizens, they remarked.
"We will withdraw our Ambassador for consultations once the men's bodies have been returned to the families of Chan and Sukumaran," they warned, adding that ministerial visits will remain suspended.
Meanwhile, former Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr observed that the decision to recall the Australian ambassador to Indonesia following the execution of Bali Nine duo Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran is a bad move.
Speaking to Sky News on Wednesday afternoon, Carr noted that Australia relied on Indonesia's cooperation in the areas of immigration, cattle trade, counterterrorism operations, and Australian investment.
With the absence of an ambassador in Indonesia, Australians could potentially be at greater risk in the country, he pointed out while raising the awkward question of when the ambassador will be sent back.
"Cooperation with Indonesia is hugely in Australia's interest. To pluck our ambassador out of Jakarta means we simply haven't got the clout and our whole agenda could slip away," he noted.
"Unless we have cooperation in counterterrorism operations running at its optimal level, the lives of Australians in Bali are at greater risk," Carr stressed.
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