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

(Image credit: Stefan Postles/Getty Images)

published 18 February 2015

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."

Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran are part of the Bali Nine group that attempted to smuggle heroin from Indonesia to Australia, The Guardian reports. Abbott said they should spend a long time in jail, but should not be put to death. Indonesia's foreign minister, Retno Marsudi, said on Tuesday that the death penalty is part of the law in Indonesia, and "implemented as a last resort for the most serious of crimes" and "not directed to a particular country." Authorities in Indonesia also said on Tuesday that the executions are not likely to take place this month.

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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.

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