Indonesia | Drug executions trigger recalls of Brazilian, Dutch envoys

Indonesia executed six people for drug trafficking, ignoring a plea for clemency from Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff and prompting the Latin American nation and the Netherlands to recall their ambassadors.
Rousseff received confirmation that Marco Archer was killed soon after midnight Jakarta time on Jan. 18, Brazil’s presidency said in an e-mailed statement. The decision to execute Archer “gravely affects relations” between the two countries, the presidency said. The Netherlands’ government also condemned the execution of Dutch citizen Ang Kiem Soei by Indonesia.
While Brazil has expressed its “dissatisfaction,” a crisis between the two countries is unlikely as the South American country has no issues with Indonesia, said Marcos Azambuja, a former ambassador and currently a member of the Brazilian Center for International Relations, a think tank of diplomats and professors.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo refused Rousseff’s personal appeal by telephone to spare Archer and Rodrigo Gularte, another Brazilian facing “imminent” execution for drug trafficking, according to a statement published Jan. 16 by Brazil’s presidential press office in Brasilia. Archer is the first Brazilian to be executed by a foreign government, according to newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo.
“Wars against drug mafia can’t be half-­hearted, because drugs have ruined the lives of both the users and family of the users,” said Widodo, known as Jokowi, on his Facebook page Sunday. “The state must be present and directly fight against drugs syndicates.”
Jokowi told Rousseff he couldn’t commute the sentence because all judicial proceedings had followed Indonesian law and the Brazilian citizens had been granted due process, according to the statement. The decision “will generate commotion in Brazil and have a negative repercussion for bilateral relations,” Rousseff told Jokowi.
Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders said in an e-mailed statement the executions of Ang Kiem Soei and five others was “tragic.” “My sympathies go out to their families, for whom this brings a dramatic end to years of uncertainty,” he said.
Koenders said the Dutch government used all possible means to try to stop it and he has recalled the ambassador in Indonesia to the Netherlands for consultations. Raymond Colitt, Arnaldo Galvao and Karen Eeuwens ,  Bloomberg

indonesia: diplomatic appeals won’t stop executions

Indonesia is sticking to its policy of executing drug offenders, including foreigners, and says the withdrawal of the Dutch and Brazil ambassadors will not disturb its diplomatic ties with those countries. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir repeated yesterday that the country is dealing with a drug emergency. The nation of 250 million people has extremely strict drug laws and often executes smugglers. More than 138 people are on death row, mostly for drug crimes. About a third of them are foreigners.