Jakarta: Being slammed from all sides over its relentless execution of eight drug convicts, Indonesia on Wednesday brushed aside condemnations, justifying the deaths as apart of country's war against drug crimes.
Talking to reporters in Cilacap, Indonesia's Attorney General Muhammad Prasetyo said that execution of drug convicts was a must as drug-related crimes posed a threat to the “nation's survival”.
"We are fighting a war against horrible drug crimes that threaten our nation`s survival," the AFP quoted him as saying.
"The executions have been successfully implemented, perfectly. All worked, no misses," he said.
“Execution is not a pleasant thing. It is not a fun job. But we must do it in order to save the nation from the danger of drugs,” he added according to the AFP.
Prasteyo also downplayed Australia's move of recalling ambassador and said that the executions were not meant to make “enemies out of nations” from where those executed came.
Indonesia received scathing condemnation worldwide over its relentless act of executing seven foreigners and an Indonesian who were convicted of drug smuggling and were on death row.
Out of nine prisoners on death row, eight were shot dead by a 13-member firing squad right after midnight outside the gates of Pasir Putih prison at the island of Nusakambangan.
However, a Filipino woman Mary Jane Veloso, 30, was the only one to win a last-minute reprieve as the Philippine government requested that her testimony was required in a human trafficking case back home.
"There was a request from the Philippine president regarding the perpetrator who's suspected of committing human trafficking and surrendered in the Philippines. MJ is needed for her testimony," said AG's office.
Condemning the death of two Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, PM Tony Abbott called the executions as “cruel and unnecessary”and declared that ambassador to Jakarta will be recalled.
"We respect Indonesia's sovereignty but we do deplore what's been done and this cannot be simply business as usual," he said.
"For that reason, once all the courtesies have been extended to the Chan and Sukumaran families our ambassador will be withdrawn for consultations."
Brazil and Netherlands also expressed anger and recalled their ambassadors to Jakarta.
Amnesty International denounced Indonesia's executions as "reprehensible" and said that they show complete disregard for human rights safeguards.
#Indonesia: Execution of 8 people shows complete disregard for due process & #humanrights. http://t.co/YfjBr0A5DF pic.twitter.com/dmdTf0EOQZ
— AmnestyInternational (@amnesty) April 28, 2015
Out of eight executed, two were Australians, four Nigerians, a Brazilian and an Indonesian.
