Tony Abbott asks Indonesia to reciprocate for tsunami aid, spare two Australians on death row

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
(Image credit: Stefan Postles/Getty Images)

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott is asking Indonesia to remember the $1 billion aid package from his country following the 2004 tsunami and grant clemency to a pair of Australians on death row for drug smuggling.

"Let's not forget that a few years ago when Indonesia was struck by the Indian Ocean tsunami Australia sent a billion dollars worth of assistance, we sent a significant contingent of our armed forces to help in Indonesia with humanitarian relief, and Australians lost their lives in that campaign to help Indonesia," Abbott said. "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 in this way at this time."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.