`Koin untuk Australia` Diserahkan WNI ke Komisi Tinggi Australia di London
Indonesian in London Donated 20 Kg of Coins to Australia
Editor : Cahyani Harzi
Translator : Dhelia Gani
London (B2B) - Sekelompok warga Indonesia di Inggris yang secara spontan mengumpulkan keping-keping koin mulai dari satu pence koin Inggris sampai dua poundsterling sebanyak satu koper dan menyerahkannya ke Komisi Tinggi Australia (Australian High Commissioner) London di Australia House, Strand, London, Selasa sore.
Aksi "Coins For Australia," yang marak di Indonesia adalah terkait harga diri bangsa Indonesia terhadap pernyataan Perdana Menteri Australia, Tony Abbott tentang Bantuan Dana Kemanusiaan Pemerintah Australia kepada Indonesia bagi korban Tsunami, ujar Caya Fairrie, dari Silkworms kepada Antara London, Selasa sore.
"Kami tergugah atas berita tentang ini dan ingin menyoroti ketidak-tepatan komentar Perdana Menteri Tony Abbott yang menghubungkan Dana Bantuan Australia untuk Aceh dengan kedaulatan sistem peradilan Indonesia, yang melibatkan dua orang Australia penyelundup narkoba dari 'Bali-Nine'," kata Caya Fairrie.
Abbot mengungkit bantuan dana kemanusiaan pemerintah Australia kepada Republik Indonesia bagi korban musibah bencana alam tsunami, sehari setelah Natal 2004, terkait rencana eksekusi terhadap dua terpidana narkoba asal Australia yang dikenal sebagai Bali-Nine.
Menurut Caya, pernyataan Perdana Menteri Australia, Tony Abbott yang dianggap mengkaitkan bantuan Australia dalam bencana tsunami di Aceh 2004 dengan persoalan hukuman mati di Indonesia, terus menuai protes di Indonesia. Hal itu merupakan diplomasi yang membaurkan bantuan dengan menantang kedaulatan Republik Indonesia.
Ia mengatakan, koin yang dikumpulkan sejak 24 Februari lalu, dari warga Indonesia di Britania Raya seperti dari Hertford, Cambridge, Nottingham, York dan Bedfordshire sebagai kontribusi mereka mengembalikan dana bantuan ke Komisi Tinggi Australia di London.
"Kami diterima dengan baik oleh David Lawrence dan Fred Lewis dari Komisi Tinggi Australia," ujar Caya yang datang bersama rekan nya Irma Lengkong Mikkonen dan Dande Dibiarma Darmawan untuk menyerahkan koin mata uang Inggris seberat 20kg itu.
Menurut Caya, pihak komisi tinggi Australia sangat menghargai aksi damai "Coins For Australia," yang dilakukannya dan akan menyampaikan surat yang ditujukan kepada Komisi Tinggi Australia Alexander Downer dan selanjutnya diserahkan ke kantor PM Australia di Canberra.
Disebutkan bahwa mereka menolak menerima koin sebanyak satu koper kecil itu dan menyarankan untuk diserahkan ke badan sosial. (Antara)
London (B2B) - A group of Indonesians residing in London donated 20 kilograms of coins packed in a luggage to the Australian High Commissioner, here Tuesday, as part of the Coins for Australia campaign.
The campaign was organized in response to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott's recent statement linking his country's funds for assisting the tsunami victims in Aceh in 2004 with the case of the two convicted drug smugglers due to be executed.
Caya Fairrie and Irma Lengkong Mikkonen, the initiators of the Coins for Australia program, informed ANTARA that they were encouraged by media reports about the massive coin collection campaigns in Indonesia and decided to conduct the same activity here.
The coins, packed in the luggage, were donated in a campaign activity held for a week by Indonesians living in various cities in the United Kingdom such as Hertford, Cambridge, Nottingham, York, and Bedfordshire, Fairrie remarked.
"When we handed over the luggage, we were well received by David Lawrence and Fred Lewis from the Australian High Commission," remarked Fairrie, who was accompanied by Irma Lengkong Mikkonen and Dande Dibiarma Darmawan.
Myuran Sukumaran (33) and Andrew Chan (31) are among the 11 prisoners on death row who will soon be executed on the island of Nusakambangan, Central Java Province.
The two Australian ringleaders of a drug trafficking group called Bali Nine had been flown out of Bali Island on Wednesday to the Nusakambangan Prison.
In response to Indonesia's firm decision to go ahead with the Bali Nine members' executions, Canberra has threatened Jakarta, as indicated in Prime Minister Tony Abbotts statement.
Abbott was quoted as saying by ABC that his government "will find ways to make its displeasure known if the executions are carried out."
The Australian prime minister also emphasized that Indonesia should remember Australia's generosity when a deadly tsunami hit Aceh in 2004.
"I would say to the Indonesian people and the Indonesian government: We in Australia are always there to help you, and we hope that you might reciprocate," he was quoted by BBC as recently saying.
Abbott's statement was then responded by Indonesians, including primary school students, in various parts of the archipelago by conducting the Coins for Australia and Coins for Abbott campaigns.
Certain elements in the Australian society also echoed calls for boycotting the Indonesian resort island of Bali's tourism industry if Jakarta proceeded with its plan to execute the two ringleaders of the Bali Nine group.
The two were arrested along with seven other Australians while attempting to smuggle 8.3 kilograms of heroin from Bali to Sydney, Australia, in 2005. President Joko Widodo had recently rejected Sukumarans clemency petition.
Indonesia had recently executed six drug convicts as part of its efforts to combat drug trafficking in the country.
The six convicts were Namaona Denis of Malawi; Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira of Brazil; Daniel Enemuo, alias Diarrassouba Mamadou, of Nigeria; Ang Kiem Soei, alias Kim Ho, alias Ance Tahir, of the Netherlands; Rani Andriani, alias Melisa Aprilia, of Indonesia; and Tran Thi Bich Hanh of Vietnam.
