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.
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.
Capital punishment is unfairly imposed, innocent people are regularly condemned and it is patently ineffective in deterring crime. So why to states retain the death penalty?
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.
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.
Giri Ahmad Taufik, Indonesian Center for Law and Policy Studies (PSHK)
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…
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 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.
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.
The executions in Indonesia were a mistake. Eight people are dead, including Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, despite alleged violations in the judicial process.
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.
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.
Director, Asian Law Centre, Comparative Legal Studies Program; Associate Director, Vietnam; Director of Studies, Asian Law, The University of Melbourne