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Articles on Bali Nine

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A wall of Myuran Sukumaran’s self portraits at the Sydney Festival exhibition Myuran Sukumaran: Another Day in Paradise. Supplied

Myuran Sukumaran’s artistic voice is raw, premature and unsettling

Most people who see Myuran Sukumaran: Another Day in Paradise, opening today as part of the Sydney Festival, will already have a strong opinion on the artist and his death – but a few may have their minds changed.
In its ‘war on drugs’, Indonesia’s narcotics agency targets not only drug producers, dealers and couriers – but also users. shutterstock

Indonesia’s ‘war on drugs’ may bring health crisis

In tackling the problem of drug abuse, Indonesia should change its criminalisation and punitive approach into a public health one.
Indonesia’s unofficial ‘pause’ on the death penalty has come too late for Australians Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan. AAP/Mick Tsikas

Moratorium or not, Indonesia could be abandoning the death penalty

Whether Indonesia’s unofficial ‘moratorium’ on the death penalty is genuine or temporary, this is an advocacy moment for Australia to seize.
Julie Bishop was a particularly strong advocate in urging Indonesia to spare the lives of Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan. AAP/Mick Tsikas

What more can Australia do to end the death penalty worldwide?

Beyond general expressions of “opposition” to capital punishment, Australia did not emphasise specific human rights principles in its lobbying of Indonesia to spare Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.
Indonesia is forcing people with drug dependence problems to go into rehab. joloei/www.shutterstock.com

Forced rehabilitation of drug users in Indonesia not a solution

Indonesia’s war on drugs aims to protect the country’s young generation from an alleged “national drug emergency.” But the government’s coercive approach is harming the people it wishes to protect.
Australia’s ambassador to Indonesia Paul Grigson (right) returned to Indonesia this week. AAP/Aaron Bunch

Ambassador’s return to Indonesia shows his recall was futile

In returning Paul Grigson to Jakarta so swiftly, the Australian government proved that its choice to put its relationship with Indonesia at risk for short-term political opportunism was pointless.
Australia’s appeal to spare reformed Bali duo Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran failed in the face of Indonesia’s retributive justice system. EPA/MAST IRHAM

Indonesia’s retributive justice was deaf to pleas for reformed Bali duo

In spite of vigorous appeals from Australia for Indonesia to spare the lives of Bali duo Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, most Indonesians were not persuaded. Chan and Sukumaran were executed last week…
Some Australian media outlets have left no doubt about their position on the executions and the target of their anger. Herald Sun/Courier Mail

Judicial murder is meat and drink for the media

There have been executions of Australians for drug offences before. In 1986 Kevin Barlow and Brian Chambers were hung in Malaysia for trafficking heroin. Van Tuong Nguyen was hanged in Singapore in 2005…
Indonesians are sensitive about issues of respect for their nation and its sovereignty, as protests at Tony Abbott’s linking of aid with calls for clemency showed. EPA/Bagus Indahono

Bali Nine response must manage power shift in Indonesian relations

Indonesians have long felt that Australia lacks respect for their nation’s sovereignty, but Indonesia’s status as a rising power adds to the urgency of recalibrating our approach to the relationship.
Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott greets Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo during the 2014 G20 Leaders’ Summit in Brisbane. AAP/Steve Christo

Grattan on Friday: Australia-Indonesia relationship will never be easy

Since Tony Abbott became prime minister, three issues have strained relations with Indonesia. Before the fracture over the fate of Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, there were difficulties from the Coalition’s tow-back policy and a major crisis after revelations of Australian spying.
Bali Nine member Scott Rush’s father alerted the AFP to his son’s plans in the hope they would stop him from travelling to Indonesia. AAP/Made Nagi

Bali Nine executions give ‘cause to pause’ policing co-operation

The AFP revised the guidelines on international co-operation since alerting Indonesia to the Bali Nine but there is arguably still an imbalance between security and human rights considerations.
Julie Bishop and Tony Abbott are firm advocates of human rights when Australians are executed but not when asylum seekers are involved. AAP/Lukas Coch

Hard line on refugees undermines principled opposition to execution

In condemning Indonesia’s execution of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, Australia has relied on the same human rights obligations that it rejects when applied to asylum seekers.

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