Australia Kecam RI `Tuli` Ketika 189 Warga Indonesia Terancam Hukuman Mati di Mancanegara
Indonesian Pleas for Mercy Its Citizens Nearly 200 Times, so Why are Australia`s Appeals Falling on Deaf Ears?
Editor : Ismail Gani
Translator : Novita Cahyadi
KETIKA DUO Bali Nine, Andrew Chan dan Myuran Sukumaran yang menanti waktu eksekusi mati di Nusakambangan tengah mengajukan gugatan ke pengadilan, terungkap pula bahwa hampir 200 warga Indonesia di mancanegara tengah menantikan eksekusi mati selama tiga tahun terakhir - dan pemerintah Indonesia berupaya mendapatkan keringanan hukuman mati bagi warganya di luar negeri.
Fakta tersebut dilansir oleh media Australia, Daily Mail, bahwa 189 warga Indonesia yang terancam hukuman mati tengah diupayakan keringanan hukuman melalui jalur diplomasi - dan dalam beberapa kasus, sejumlah uang yang dibayarkan - oleh Indonesia, seperti dilaporkan The Sunday Telegraph. Warga Indonesia yang mendapat keringanan hukuman karena kejahatan termasuk penyelundupan narkoba tersebar di Malaysia, Arab Saudi, China, Iran dan Singapura.
"Saya tidak meminta dari Indonesia sesuatu yang tidak diminta Indonesia kepada negara-negara lain di mana warga negara Indonesia menghadapi ancaman hukuman mati," kata Menteri Luar Negeri Australia, Julie Bishop seperti dilansir Telegraph.
"Kami mendesak pemerintah Indonesia untuk menunjukkan belas kasihan yang sama kepada Andrew dan Myuran karena menghadapi masalah yang sama seperti warga Indonesia di luar negeri," katanya di Parlemen Australia baru-baru ini yang dilansir MailOnline.
Dengan perkiraan 360 orang Indonesia yang terancam hukuman mati di luar negeri - sekitar 230 orang atas tuduhan narkoba - Menteri Luar Negeri Australia Julie Bishop memperingatkan rencana Indonesia untuk melanjutkan eksekusi mati duo Bali Nine dapat berisiko fatal terhadap warga negaranya sendiri.
Menlu Bishop merujuk pada kasus Satinah Binti Jumadi Ahmad, seorang pembantu Indonesia yang selamat dari hukum pancung di Arab Saudi atas upaya pemerintah Indonesia setelah divonis bersalah membunuh majikannya yang sudah tua.
Indonesia dilaporkan membayar denda US$ 2,1 juta untuk menghentikan eksekusi dan Presiden Joko Widodo merupakan salah satu politisi yang menyerukan permintaan pengampunan pada saat itu.
Ketika Presiden Widodo berupaya menyelamatkan hidup warganya, ia juga terus menolak pengajuan banding grasi dari Australia grasi untuk duo Bali Nine.
Widodo mengatakan kepada Al Jazeera bahwa perannya, sebagai Kepala Negara, adalah untuk melindungi warganya.
"Tapi pada saat yang sama, kita harus menghormati negara-negara lain yang menerapkan hukuman mati," katanya.
AS CONDEMNED Bali Nine pair Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran wait on 'death island' for their latest appeal to go to court, it's been revealed that almost 200 Indonesians on death row around the world have had their sentences commuted over the last three years - at the request of the Indonesian government.
189 Indonesian death sentences were suspended thanks to diplomatic efforts - and in some cases, money paid - by Indonesia,The Sunday Telegraph reports. The Indonesians who won reprieves were convicted of crimes which included drug smuggling in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, China, Iran and Singapore.
'I am not requesting of Indonesia anything that Indonesia does not request of other nations where Indonesian citizens face the death penalty,' Ms Bishop told the Telegraph.
'We urge the Indonesian government to show the same mercy to Andrew and Myuran as it seeks for its citizens in the same situation abroad,' she said in the Australian Parliament recently.
With an estimated 360 Indonesians facing the death penalty abroad - about 230 of those on drug charges - Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has warned Indonesia's plans to proceed with the Bali Nine executions could risk the lives of its own citizens.
Ms Bishop pointed to the case of Satinah Binti Jumadi Ahmad, an Indonesian maid who was saved from beheading in Saudi Arabia by the previous Indonesian government after being convicted of murdering her elderly employer.
It's reported Indonesia paid $2.1 million to stop the execution and that President Joko Widodo was among the politicians calling for mercy at the time.
While President Widodo lobbies for his own people, he continues to reject Australia's appeals for clemency for the Bali Nine pair.
Widodo told Al Jazeera Televsion that his role, as Head of State, is to protect his citizens.
'But at the same time, we have to respect other countries that apply capital punishment,' he said.
