World leaders from Australia, Brazil, and France have contacted Indonesian President Jokowi to ask him to not execute the 11 convicts on death row scheduled to go before a firing squad sometime this week. All of these countries have citizens scheduled to be executed, and yet Jokowi has denied clemency. He has instead warned foreign countries not to intervene in his government’s right to practice capital punishment. This strong stance has strained Indonesia’s relationship with Brazil and Australia. In addition to these 11, there are 47 more foreigners on death row, and concerns have been voiced about how that will affect Indonesia’s relationship with other nations as well.
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi stated that Indonesia is open to suggestions and ready to cooperate and partner with other countries, but when other countries offend Indonesia’s dignity as a nation, they will stand firm. This is what is happening now in relation to the executions, and this is why they will not back down from their policy. He also gave a reminder: “Indonesia is a frequent point of transit for … drug crimes, and it is now one of the world’s largest market [sic] of international drug syndicates. It is time for us to declare war against narcotics.”
Pray for the Indonesian government to have wisdom in how to balance a stand against narcotics with good diplomatic relationships with other countries.
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