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- Nepal earthquake: tensions rise over slow pace of aid – live updates
- 'South Africa's silence on Zimbabwe instrumental in xenophobic attacks'
- Yanis Varoufakis talks his way out of restaurant confrontation with anarchists
- Baltimore mother drags son out of riots – video
- Indonesia executions: bodies of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran arrive at funeral home – rolling report
- Bali Nine: Australia recalls ambassador as world condemns executions
- Kathmandu daily exodus may reach 300,000 as residents flee chaos
- Bill Shorten and Tanya Plibersek say Australians ‘deeply hurt’ by killing of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran – video
- UK intelligence tribunal to rule on surveillance case
- Nepalese village of Barkobot left stranded after earthquake: ‘Nobody has come to help’ - video
- Baltimore mother praised by police for dragging son out of riots
- Malawi: The scale of devastation from January's floods is still unfolding – in pictures
- Immigration: in Enoch Powell's former seat jobs and the economy matter more
- Don’t Trust, Don’t Fear, Don’t Beg review – sobering tale of Greenpeace’s Arctic 30
- Baltimore protests: police in riot gear disperse hundreds defying 10pm curfew
- Bali Nine: Australia's clemency pleas weakened by fickleness on death penalty
- Baltimore protests: 'acts of violence will not be tolerated' – as it happened
- Overwhelmed by protesters in Baltimore, Maryland governor says it will not happen again - video
- Saudi Arabia reshuffle as king appoints nephew to crown prince post
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| Nepal earthquake: tensions rise over slow pace of aid – live updates Posted: 29 Apr 2015 01:51 AM PDT
Reuters has more on the tensions over rescue flights and relief supplies among trekkers and locals. It said Israeli trekkers fought for food and for places on rescue helicopters after being denied shelter by locals in the aftermath of the earthquake. Up to 250 people were feared missing immediately after an avalanche on Tuesday hit a village in Langtang, a national park north of the capital Kathmandu. In the event, there were no confirmed deaths or serious injuries.
The hope of finding more survivors from the rubble appears to be dimming. AFP reports that Nepal has told foreign search and rescue teams not to come because there are already enough on the ground. The UN says there are at least 37 separate search teams made up of more than 500 specialists and their sniffer dogs.
Channel 4 News reporter Jonathan Miller confirms the rising frustration about the lack of aid. A woman in Bhaktapur, east of Kathmandu, said her community had had no food, medicine or emergency relief. "We want the relief, but our government is not helping us," she said.
In a further sign of rising tensions, Reuters reports friction between foreigners and Nepalis desperate for relief supplies. Members of an Israeli search-and-rescue group named Magnus said hundreds of tourists, including about 100 Israelis, were stranded in Langtang in Rasuwa district, a popular trekking area north of Kathmandu hit by a fresh avalanche on Tuesday. Fights had broken out there because of food shortages, Magnus team member Amit Rubin said. "Villagers think the tourists are taking too much food," Rubin said.
Nepal Times reporter Anurag Acharya says the government's promise of free bus rides out of Kathmandu is creating "chaos". Well intentioned,badly planned: free bus ride 4 every1 creating chaos.Ppl tryn to reach family in distress stranded pic.twitter.com/5HvaGci0LD Hooligans among those lined up for free ride created disturbance.Intl media focus only an encouragement. #sensiblecoverage #NepalQuake Pls call off free ride for all,prioritise it only for ppl of affected dist. It is creating a riot. @lm_poudel @Nepal_PM_Fund @NEoCOfficial
About 200 people have blocked traffic in Kathmandu to protest about the the slow pace of aid delivery, AP reports. The protesters faced off with police and there were minor scuffles but no arrests were made. One protester says they haven't received any relief. "We are hungry, we haven't had anything to drink. We haven't been able to sleep. I have a 7-year-old child who is sleeping in the open. It's getting cold and people are getting pneumonia," he said. He accused the government of not doing enough. Supplies are running thin and aftershocks have strained nerves in the ruined city. Desperate to leave, thousands of people began gathering from before dawn outside the main bus station after the government promised to lay on special services. But when the buses failed to materialise, anger began surging and scuffles broke out between the crowds and the columns of riot police who were sent in to try to contain the situation near parliament.
Aid is begging to reach remote district for the first time, humanitarian agencies claim. But it will still take time for the food and other supplies to reach survivors in remote communities who have been cut off by landslides, warned said Geoff Pinnock, a World Food Programme emergencies officer. Preparing landing zone for helicopter that will take @WFP food to #NepalQuake survivors in Gorkha district. pic.twitter.com/tot8m8B1DH
The Guardian's Pete Pattisson has a new video report from Barkobot, in Nepal's Sindhupalchowk district, where homes have been reduced to rubble and everyone has been forced to sleep rough.
Fears of disease have prompted many in Nepal to wear face masks, writes Ishwar Rauniyar in Kathmandu. "We have heard that swine flu might hit us," said Niraj Paneru 20, from Gorkha District in the western Nepal. "We have to be prepared to defy disease." Chemist Rajendra Bajracharya said he had sold out of many bundles of masks.
Police in Nepal have confirmed that the death toll has topped 5,000, AP reports. The Kathmandu police count currently stands at 4,989 with another 10,260 people have been injured in Nepal.
Melissa Davey signing off and handing over to my colleague in London, Matthew Weaver. In summary so far;
Plan International's Tanya Barron is in Kathmandu and describes the devastation, having moved around the city over the past 36 hours. I've been through Kathmandu and have seen a major high school simply ripped apart, vast areas turned to great hills of rubble.Then came the camps. The government is doing its best – a good job in the circumstances – and has set up 16 camps in the city. The one I saw had flimsy cloth-screened rows of latrines with pools of muddy water around them. Water supply and sanitation is becoming a very urgent problem.
Ishwar Rauniyar, who is working for the Guardian in Nepal, has just filed these heartbreaking images from the remote village of Sindhupalchowk, which has been left devastated by the earthquake. In the remote village of Sindhupalchowk, Goma Puri is grieving for the loss of her three-year-old son, Jenish.
Ishwar Rauniyar, who is working for the Guardian in Nepal, has filed this report as thousands of people flee Kathmandu, where food and water supplies are scarce, and accommodation remains unsafe; Thousands of people are queuing around the Kathmandu's Constituent Assembly Building looking for a bus coupon that will take them to their respective districts outside Kathmandu valley. They fear epidemic outbreak and earthquake aftershocks.
More than 100,000 people have already left Kathmandu, terrified by the prospect of further earthquakes, epidemics and a breakdown in law and order, our south Asia correspondent, Jason Burke, reports; At the checkpoint on the main highway out of the city, officials said more than 300 packed buses and coaches had passed since 5am this morning, nearly 10 times the usual number. #UPGovt buses in Kathmandu helping evacuation :Major help in road transport. pic.twitter.com/8N4pAehH6J"
Charity organisation, ActionAid, reports that people are sleeping rough on every road and junction, and that there is rubble everywhere. A critical fear is for the health of people sleeping on the streets with cold nights, and clean water shortages, they say, with staff on the ground reporting heavy rain has just set in, contributing to health concerns. The rain that has begun is making the lives of people in shelters even more difficult, and is also making relief-delivery challenging. The ActionAid team in Nepal have been working around the clock since the earthquake struck to do all that we can to ensure that those affected receive the critical relief that they need at this time. Morning logistics meet to agree who we can reach today. We're planning to reach 150,000 with response - #Nepal pic.twitter.com/kyjzyWeYGH
According to UNICEF Australia, Nearly 1m children require urgent humanitarian assistance in aftermath of #NepalEarthquake: http://t.co/ET1rJtLYYC pic.twitter.com/2kGIQ1eipF
South Asia correspondent, Jason Burke has just sent us this; What is clear is that a huge amount of aid is now coming into the country through its only International airport in Kathmandu.
This just in from Associated Press; All climbers on the Nepal side of Mount Everest have left the mountain and the climbing season is over following a deadly earthquake that left thousands dead in Nepal and dozens of climbers killed or injured after an avalanche swept across the basecamp area, according to guiding companies and individual climbers. Crews race to rescue climbers amid shifting weather on Mt. Everest after Nepal earthquake: http://t.co/JzFgO5x3cr pic.twitter.com/39kWA9Ze9G
The managing director of Dreamers Destination treks, Temba Tsheri Sherpa, has given the Guardian permission to use some photos he has taken of Everest Base Camp. Sherpa has been left devastated after losing five of his climbers in the avalanche that hit the camp.
From our south Asia correspondent Jason Burke; Just to give an idea of the logistical problems that people face getting made out to more distant areas, the convoy I'm with has just taken over an hour to clear Kathmandu itself and there is still five or six hours, possibly more, of driving to go before reaching Gorkha. Borders of sindulpalchowk district, Nepal. Five houses, five brothers, 50 people homeless. pic.twitter.com/e95BA8tuIK
A second military plane has been deployed to Nepal to deliver Australian aid to the earthquake-ravaged country, AAP reports. Hundreds of Australians stranded in Nepal will be airlifted to Bangkok until the planes are no longer required, the federal government said in a statement on Wednesday. Two RAAF planes have left QLD base to deliver aid to Nepal, and bring back affected Aussies. #NepalEarthquake #9News pic.twitter.com/UC5ftXvxgr
Here is an update from the Guardian's Caty Enders; It seems there are villages that are being flown over by rescue helicopters in favour of resorts where westerners need rescue. The villages of Thame and Upper Thame have been devastated. So far not one relief mission has arrived and all the homes are uninhabitable. It's now cold, and raining. The local population desperately need better quality temporary shelters and much more help. So far at least seven empty commercial helicopter flights have flown in to the Yeti Mountain Home luxury hotel to evacuate its customers but not one brought anything." A scene of destruction after ice thunders into Mount Everest base camp http://t.co/5qTyvnhFpc pic.twitter.com/msmiFP9miT The first problem we need to address if we want to climb is to find a route up through Khumbu Icefall, a task that is normally done by a special group of Sherpas called "Icefall Doctors" ... Despite the earthquakes and avalanches, there are still a lot of climbers here that have the motivation, strength, acclimatization and time to summit this year if it is possible. Even climbers that were evacuated yesterday wants to go back up."
Guardian south Asia correspondent, Jason Burke, has sent through this update; I'm on my way out of Kathmandu in a save the children aid convoy heading to the epicentre. Driving through the city I've seen huge queues, literally half a mile long, for aid distribution. UNHCR is rushing supplies to #NepalEarthquake survivors- help us get aid where it is needed http://t.co/CNc4KOm2p8 pic.twitter.com/B04UD5UUK4
Candlelight, and mobile phone, vigils have been taking place around the world since Saturday's deadly earthquake in Nepal. Crowds of people in London, Multan (Pakistan) and New York have stood alongside members of the Nepalese diaspora to mark their respect for the more than 5,000 who died in the disaster.
Delivering aid to the more remote parts of the country has become an urgent task for Nepal's government, but one made complicated by poor weather conditions and landslides that have blocked access. "No one has come. I walked to the police post and told them we were here. They said there was no plan and they had no orders and told us to stay where we are and wait. So we are waiting," said Rashmita Shashtra, 23, a health worker in the village. Aid is flowing into Nepal. The land route to India is open, and flights are landing round the clock at the nation's single, and now very congested, international airport. There are now distributions of blankets, food and other vitals in some places and assessments under way of far-flung districts.
More photos from that extraordinary five-hour rescue on Tuesday by a joint Nepali-French search and rescue team in which a 28-year-old man was pulled from a collapsed apartment block in the capital Kathmandu.
Welcome back to the Guardian's coverage of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit near Kathmandu on Saturday and its aftermath. An official death toll released 12 hours ago stands at 5,507, although Nepal's prime minister Sushil Koirala has said this could reach 10,000. Around 8,000 people have been injured. Continue reading...        |
| 'South Africa's silence on Zimbabwe instrumental in xenophobic attacks' Posted: 29 Apr 2015 01:49 AM PDT The ANC fought so hard for democracy at home yet covertly endorses an illegitimate government next door, says Blessing Vava Continue reading...        |
| Yanis Varoufakis talks his way out of restaurant confrontation with anarchists Posted: 29 Apr 2015 01:33 AM PDT Greece's outspoken finance minister and his wife came under attack by anarchists while dining at Athens restaurant Continue reading...        |
| Baltimore mother drags son out of riots – video Posted: 29 Apr 2015 01:26 AM PDT A mother is filmed in Baltimore dragging her teenage son away from violent riots in the city on Monday. Toya Graham is seen slapping her 16-year-old son, Michael, and berating him for taking part in the Baltimore riots, in a reprimand captured by local television station WMAR that has since been seen around the world Continue reading...         |
| Posted: 29 Apr 2015 01:06 AM PDT
Indonesian Attorney-General HM Prasetyo has told reporters in Cilacap that this morning's executions were conducted "humanely". Reporter Dina Indrasafitri, who is in Cilacap, filed this dispatch: Prasetyo came to Nusa Kambangan Island, Central Java, where the executions were carried out, on the same day of the executions to conduct inspections and receive reports on the process. He said that all eight prisoners were executed at the same time by firing squads. The execution time was 00.35am. The prisoners were declared dead three minutes later.
Worth reiterating at this point that Indonesia is one of just 58 countries that allow the death penalty. My colleague, Nick Evershed, produced this map a few weeks ago of all 607 executions carried out last year.
Indonesian president Joko Widodo has reiterated comments made by Attorney General HM Prasetyo in Cilacap, telling the Jakarta Globe the execution is only delayed, not called off altogether. Widodo told Jakarta Globe: We did not cancel the execution. We only delayed it after we received a letter from the Philippine authorities about an ongoing investigation of a human trafficking case there.
Opposition leader Bill Shorten and opposition foreign affairs spokesperson Tanya Plibersek spoke to reporters in Canberra earlier today. Both urged Australians not to take their anger over the executions out on ordinary Indonesians. Plibersek said: We are deeply heart and deeply troubled that those pleas for mercy have been ignored. So of course there will be a time that our relationship is put under pressure.
Indonesian Attorney-General HM Prasetyo has quashed the hopes of supporters of death row inmate Mary Jane Veloso that the Filipina woman might be granted clemency for drug smuggling on the grounds she was a victim of human trafficking, telling reporters on Wednesday that being a victim "will not erase Mary Jane's criminal responsibility." Reporter Dina Indrasafitri filed this dispatch from Cilacap: Indonesia's Attorney General HM Prasetyo repeatedly said during a press conference that Mary Jane Veloso's death sentence is "postponed, not canceled". The Philippines national was initially scheduled to be executed this morning along with eight others who were also on death row. But, according to Prasetyo, Indonesian President Joko Widodo decided to respond to the Philippines government's official request that Indonesia postpone the execution, in order to give Velozo a chance to testify in human trafficking cases. "That was why, in the end, we decided to respect the legal process going on in the Philippines, postponing the execution." National Police Chief Comr. Gen Badrodin Haiti said that his institution is ready to investigate whether Veloso was a victim of human trafficking. Prasetyo repeatedly said, however, that Veloso's attempt to smuggle heroin into the country would still be taken into account. "Even if she was discovered to be a victim of human trafficking, the fact is that she was caught bringing heroin into Indonesia. [Being a victim] will not erase Mary Jane's criminal responsibility," he said. He refused to answer whether Veloso's sentence would be reduced if she was discovered to be a victim, but said that she was allowed to file another case review. When asked about any plan to implement a moratorium on death penalty, Prasetyo said that he would "have to think about it." "Particularly if we relate that to Indonesians facing death penalty in other countries. Let's say we implement a moratorium on death penalty, will other countries do the same? There's no guarantee, right?"
Former Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has posted a lengthy message on twitter explaining that he postponed his visit to Perth to avoid conflict over the executions. Yudhoyono was supposed to be the keynote speaker at an Asia-Pacific leadership forum at the University of Western Australia on Friday, where he has also been named a visiting professor and senior fellow with the Perth USAsia Centre. Yudhoyono says that the political, social and security situation was "not conducive" for his visit, and he decided to cancel after consulting with Indonesia's Australian ambassador. These quotes are only a rough translation. His tweets, in bahasa, are below. Australian society is very emotional and had demonstrations in several cities, related to the execution of its citizens on death row. After consultation with the Ambassador For Australia and key officials in Jakarta, I decided to cancel my visit. When faced with the onslaught of protests and press inquiries, I may not be at odds with the state, the government and our President. I do not always agree with the ways governments deal with (handling) international relations, but we have sovereignty. As Indonesia respects the sovereignty of other countries, so other countries also have to respect our sovereignty and our legal system. However, the situation is not conducive to doing that. Rather than counter-productive, I decided to postpone For my visit to Australia. Masyarakat Australia amat emosional & lakukan unjuk rasa di sejumlah kota, terkait eksekusi terpidana mati warga negaranya. *SBY* Tuan rumah & kedutaan Indonesia mengindikasikan selama berada di Perth akan terjadi hal-hal yang bisa mengganggu. *SBY* Setelah berkonsultasi dgn Duta Besar RI utk Australia & pejabat utama di Jakarta, saya putuskan utk membatalkan kunjungan saya. *SBY* Ketika menghadapi protes & gempuran pertanyaan pers, tidak mungkin saya berseberangan dgn negara, pemerintah & Presiden kita. *SBY* Memang saya tak selalu setuju dgn cara-cara pemerintah menangani (handling) hubungan internasional, tetapi kita punya kedaulatan. *SBY* Sebagaimana Indonesia menghormati kedaulatan negara lain, negara lain juga mesti menghormati kedaulatan & sistem hukum kita. *SBY* Namun, situasinya belum kondusif utk itu. Daripada kontra produktif, saya putuskan utk menunda kunjungan saya ke Australia. *SBY*
Darwin-based Indonesian diplomate Andre Omer Siregar has tweeted this statement, apparently defending the Indonesian attorney general, HM Prasetyo. AGO: The execution for convicted drug case means that the Indonesian Government is at WAR w/ drug crimes & NOT to antagonize other countries The AGO also conveyed deep condolences to the families and the countries whose citizens were included in the execution. This is no easy task The AGO: This was a very difficult situation &it had be completed by the Indonesian Govt. It brought us no joy in doing what had to be done.
Reporter Kate Lamb says the bodies of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran have arrived at a funeral home in West Java. They were taken by ambulance from the prison island of Nusa Kambangan, the same way the empty coffins arrived on Tuesday.
If you've been on social media at all today, you've probably seen comments suggesting that Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran and the six men shot alongside them,should not be eulogised because 1) drugs are responsible for hundreds of deaths each year, and 2) they knew the punishment for drug trafficking. Bayside Church pastor Christie Buckingham, a friend of both Chan and Sukumaran and Sukumaran's nominated spiritual adviser in his final hours, has also seen those comments. This was her response: @asepoz YES! Why wouldn't we ? And why wouldn't we keep reformed people alive ??? To show then they can live another way ???
Speaking of Mary Jane Veloso, it seems several newspapers in the Philippines were caught out by her last-minute reprieve, and instead ran front pages today announcing that she had died. Reports that Veloso had been spared began to surface just before midnight Indonesian time – that's 1am in Manila. This from AFP: "Death came before dawn" read the Philippine Daily Inquirer's dramatic headline, above a large photograph of condemned Filipina maid Mary Jane Veloso, 30, whose plight has captivated the nation. Manila's best-selling Filipino-language tabloid, Abante, ran a black-themed front page together with a picture of Veloso, head bowed, and a headline in capitals that translates as: "Farewell, Mary Jane".
Mary Jane Veloso, the Filipina who was granted a last-minute stay of execution last night, has always maintained that she did not know she was carrying heroin into Indonesia. This extract is from an unedited account of her story, as told to the Rappler. You can read the whole thing, complete with some pretty heartbreaking illustrations, here. The aluminum foil open and inside the aluminum foil have a powder the color is a lightbrown… the men check the powder… then the powder change to become solid! The men said.. you know this? I answer I don't know what s that?? All laughing he said this is kind of drugs a heroin… Oh my God !!! my body feel so cold… I cant speak any thing… only I can do that time… cry and cry!!! Because I know my life finish!!!
Well, it's been an intense and exhausting 24 hours so I will take a moment to break down the key points:
A rundown of a few the front pages of newspapers in Indonesia today, from Kate Lamb: The main English dailies, the Jakarta Post and the Jakarta Globe, are both carrying the execution as the top story. Koran Tempo is leading with the story of Mary Jane Veloso and the decision to spare her life in the final hours before she was scheduled to face the firing squad. Kompas, one of the most-read papers across the country, does not even show the story on the front page. The lead story is about the arrest of the Abraham Samad, the non-active head of the country's anti-corruption body, who was targeted by the national police after he named a head cop a corruption suspect. Front pages of Indonesian newspapers after the executions #Bali9 pic.twitter.com/1dgu1VLrMy @bkjabour pic.twitter.com/6E40P8dkRo
Neighbours of Andrew Chan's parents in Sydney have spoken about his execution. I didn't think it was going to happen ... It's not fair, it's really not fair."
Scrutiny of the role of the Australian federal police in the arrest of the Bali Nine in Indonesia is intensifying as the day goes on. Now the Independent senator Nick Xenophon has called for a fresh review of the actions of the AFP, and two other politicians are presenting legislation to parliament to outlaw information-sharing that could lead to the death penalty being applied in foreign countries, my colleague Daniel Hurst reports. The legislation to be introduced by lower house MPs Clive Palmer and Cathy McGowan would create a new offence for public officials and former public officials "who disclose information resulting in a person being tried, investigated, prosecuted or punished for an offence that carries the death penalty in a foreign country". An official found guilty of such a disclosure could face a jail term of up to 15 years, with a mandatory minimum sentence of one year.
And now for a comment on the executions from a completely unexpected source: Guns 'n' Roses frontman, Axl Rose, has spoken out in support of Mary Jane Veloso and criticised Indonesia for carrying out the other executions. 1. It's deeply troubling President Widodo ignoring International outcry went thru w/8 of the executions. 2. Let's pray Miss Veloso's reprieve is permanent. 3. Widodo's refusal 2 postpone the executions until all legal challenges n' investigations of corruption r resolved is inexcusable. 4. 4 Widodo 2 b out of the country during his big statement refusing 2 take calls or read any last minute pleas 4 the condemned is cowardice 5. The People of Indonesia deserve better.
The Indonesian foreign affairs minister, Retno Marsudi, has also responded to reports that Australia will recall its ambassador in Jakarta, noting that it is Australia's right to do so, reports Kate Lamb. The withdrawal of the ambassador, calling the ambassador for consultation, is the right of the sending country, in this case the right of Australia," Marsudi said on the sidelines of an event at Bidakara hotel in Jakarta on Wednesday. Every time we communicate with Australia, we always emphasise the desire of Indonesia to continue the good relationship. For Indonesia, Australia is an important partner, and I think for Australia, Indonesia is an important partner."
Indonesia's attorney general, HM Prasetyo, says the withdrawal of the Australian ambassador from the country is only "momentary", Dina Indrasafitri reports. The Netherlands have done the same thing in the past. Brazil has done the same thing. I think this is just a momentary reaction, and this will be settled within the diplomatic sphere. What we are doing is carrying out the court decision. Every case should have an end." I would like to say that an 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 dangers of drugs. We are not making enemies of the country from which the executed last night came from. What we are fighting against are drug-related crimes. Therefore, I would like to offer my condolences, on the execution of those who were on the death row, to their families, to their home countries. Once again, we are not against the countries, but we are fighting a war against the horrible drug crimes that threaten our nation's survival."
The speculation for the reason for Mary Jane Veloso's temporary stay of execution has been confirmed, my colleague Kate Lamb reports: On Wednesday morning the spokesman for the attorney general, Tony Spontana, confirmed the life of Mary Jane Veloso had been spared due to a last-minute appeal from the government of the Philippines. The execution of Mary Jane has been postponed due to the request of the Philippines president [Benigno Aquino III] in relation to an alleged human trafficker who recently gave herself up in the Philippines," Spontana told reporters. The alleged human trafficker turned herself into police in Manila on Tuesday.
You can leave messages of condolence for the families of the men executed in Indonesia here on the Amnesty International page. Below are some of the messages. Messages of condolence left for the families of the men executed in Indonesia https://t.co/67fAilN3dn pic.twitter.com/wfynlmEp2E
My colleague and Mercy Campaign co-founder, Brigid Delaney, has written about preparing for the execution of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran after years of hoping and working for clemency. They tried to make it imaginable – the Indonesian industrial death complex – they made it all too real with their fighter planes and tanks and ghoulish selfies, and their construction of coffins and crucifixes and their rules and odd insistence that the condemned be 'psychologically fit' for execution. They did all this. Yet it is still barely imaginable.
The executions have drawn attention once again to the role of the Australian federal police in the initial arrests of the Bali Nine. My colleague Paul Farrell has a look at the legal implications of the AFP tipping off Indonesian authorities: In 2006 four of the Bali Nine – Scott Rush, Renae Lawrence, Michael Czugaj and Martin Stevens – initiated a case in the federal court to gain access to documents about the nature of the information provided by the AFP and that revealed substantial information about its role. The application, which is known as "information discovery", is a legal process that was initiated with the intention of gaining access to documents about the AFP's role in order to advance three potential causes of actions. The circumstances revealed in this application for preliminary discovery suggest there is a need for the minister administering the Australian Federal Police Act 1979 and the commissioner of police to address the procedures and protocols followed by members of the Australian federal police when providing information to the police forces of another country in circumstances which predictably could result in the charging of a person with an offence that would expose that person to the risk of the death penalty in that country. Especially is this so where the person concerned is an Australian citizen and the information is provided in the course of a request being made by the AFP for assistance from that other country's police force. This said, the application to this court must be rejected. It reveals no basis for a reasonable cause to believe that the applicants may have a right to obtain relief in this court. Any later proceedings brought on the bases foreshadowed in this application would be purely speculative in character or else would have no prospects of success.
Flowers have been laid and candles lit outside the home of Andrew Chan's parents in Sydney, Australia.
The execution of Brazilian Rodrigo Gularte by an Indonesian firing squad looks set to worsen already deteriorating relations between the two emerging economies, my colleague Jon Watts reports: Despite seven foreign ministry appeals for clemency and a personal telephone call by president Dilma Rousseff, the Indonesian government went ahead with the shooting on Wednesday. This has generated front-page headlines in Brazil and angry comments from the foreign ministry, particularly because Gularte had been twice diagnosed with schizophrenia, which – lawyers argued – made him unfit to stand trial. Rousseff had asked Indonesian president Joko Widodo for the suspension of the death penalty on the grounds of doubts about the convict's mental health.
A British grandmother on death row in Kerobokan prison, which she shared with Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, says she is saddened by their executions. In a statement released through her lawyer, Lindsay Sandiford, 58, who was sentenced to death in 2013 for attempting to smuggle £1.6m of cocaine into Indonesia, says Chan counselled her through the difficult time. I didn't know those men at the time they committed those crimes 10 years ago. What I can say is that the Andrew and Myuran I knew were men who did good and touched the lives of a great many people, including myself. Myu and Andrew used their time in Kerobokan to make life better for everyone around them. They introduced the concept of rehabilitation to a prison that never had it before.
We have photos from the aftermath of the news breaking that Filipina Mary Jane Veloso's life had been spared. Here are her sisters, Marites Laurente and Darling Veloso, arriving back from "execution island" after Mary Jane was granted a stay on her execution.
Here is a very insightful report on what was happening diplomatically behind the scenes between Australia and Indonesia in the lead-up to the executions, and what the fallout looks like for the relationship between the two countries, from my colleagues Lenore Taylor and Gabrielle Chan. In it, they write: The unsuccessful political and diplomatic effort to appeal to new Indonesian president Joko Widodo has been intense, increasingly desperate, often 'creative', but always couched in careful language of respect for Indonesia's sovereignty as hope remained that the president might grant clemency. Now we can say what these deaths were – the torture and murder of human beings by a neighbouring state.
Here are photos of the eight men who were executed in Indonesia in the early hours of Wednesday morning, all on drug smuggling charges. They were:
In Brazil there is also great anger at the execution of Rodrigo Gularte, a Brazilian man diagnosed with schizophrenia. My colleague Jonathan Watts filed this report hours before the eight men were killed: Indonesia's decision to execute a Brazilian drug smugger has prompted an angry response in his home country, where the case has made front-page news. Rodrigo Gularte, who has twice been diagnosed with schizophrenia, is set to be the second Brazilian to be shot by firing squad in Indonesia this year. In a letter sent on Monday to the government in Jakarta, the Brazilian foreign ministry has declared the death sentence "unacceptable" and "contrary to the common sense and basic standards of human rights protection".
Australia's credibility in arguing for clemency for Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran was tarnished by Canberra's inconsistency about the death penalty, one of the men's lawyers, Peter Morrissey SC, says. In 2003, when two of the Bali bombers were sentenced to death, both the government and the opposition of the time in Australia supported it. Our credibility was a little tarnished there … We were rather applauding the death penalty when it came to the Bali bombers. That fact caused a lot of resentment. We need to be very consistent about it [and] that may have affected our credibility within Indonesia on this occasion," Morrisey said, speaking on ABC radio this morning.
We have footage of the Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott, and the foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop, speaking after the execution of Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran. Abbott announced the withdrawal of Australia's ambassador to Indonesia and said the relationship "simply cannot be business as usual". My colleague Daniel Hurst has filed a full report on the Australian government's response.
Australia's Human Rights Commission was pleading for clemency for Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran right up until yesterday. The president of the commission, Gillian Triggs, has now spoken on the executions: Today is a sad day for #humanrights. May the tragic executions of Andrew & Myuran stimulate an end to the death penalty throughout Asia My thoughts and prayers go out to Andrew and Myuran's family and friends #IStandForMercy #EndTheDeathPenalty
The lawyer for Filipina Mary Jane Veloso has described the moment her family found out she had been granted a stay on her execution, just hours before she was due to be killed, Dina Indrasafitri reports. Edre Olalia, from the National Union for People's Lawyers, said that he found out through bits and pieces of information, before then reading about it in a television station's running text. It was a very heart-wrenching moment, when [Veloso's family] left the hotel and they had to leave towards Jakarta and just wait for the body of their mother, their daughter and their sister. Then everything turned around. It's not over till it's over and that has been validated by what happened tonight.
The Australian senator Jacqui Lambie is continuing her calls for aid to Indonesia to be cut after the executions of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran. Now she is demanding $50m be redirected to Nepan from Australia's foreign aid for Indonesia. Lambie also wants Australians to boycott Indonesia, specifically Bali, as a holiday destination. What is happening in Indonesia right now is disgusting. Indonesia's president is playing at the art of war. He is toying with those boys and using them as a political pawn.
Mary Jane Veloso's husband, Michael, has publicly thanked the Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, for granting her a reprieve from execution in the hours before she was due to be killed. Veloso was granted the reprieve after her native Philippines appealed for her to be a witness in the trial against the woman who allegedly trafficked her. Talagang may himala po palang dumating sa anak ko. A miracle really came to my daughter. We are relieved that the execution of Mary Jane Veloso was not carried out tonight. The Lord has answered our prayers.
A vigil organised by the Mercy Campaign was held in Sydney last night. This is a very moving video from it, only a minute long but still quite tough to watch. It shows Myuran Sukumaran's cousin speaking about the reformed men.
Locals near where the eight foreigners were executed in Indonesia generally supported the stance of the president, Joko Widodo, Dina Indrasafitri reports from Cilacap. Indrasafitri – who has been in Cilacap, which is just across from the island where the executions took place – said there were hundreds of journalists as well as dozens, possibly hundreds of locals, creating an "intense" atmosphere. She said the locals were mostly there out of curiosity, not to protest or make any political statements. I've had conversations with the locals since I came here and most of them are saying, 'Well, I do feel sorry for them, we're all human beings, but what can you do? You made a mistake, you violated the law, you have to deal with the punishment.' There's a justification going on, [people are saying] 'The drugs are really bad and I've seen victims of drugs, they can end up in really bad situation.' One of them was saying she agreed with Joko and saw on TV Joko was saying how bad the drug problem was. The sort of sentiment I've been getting, most of them are saying, 'We've been seeing this on television and we want to see it for ourselves.'
The families of Australians Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan have released a statement about the executions. In full: Today we lost Myuran and Andrew. Our sons, our brothers. In the 10 years since they were arrested they did all the could to make amends, helping many others. They asked for mercy, but there was none. They were immensely grateful for all the support they received. We too, will be forever grateful.
You can read profiles of the eight people executed in Indonesia here. Filipina Mary Jane Veloso and Frenchman Serge Atlaoui were given temporary reprieves.
The bodies of the foreigners executed in Indonesia, including Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, have arrived via ambulance on the mainland of Indonesia. It will be another 10 hours or so before they reach Jakarta. The Guardian's Dina Indrasafitri reports there were about five ambulances. Grim...ambulances with coffins Andrew Chan and Muyuran Sukumaran have arrived at the mainland pic.twitter.com/rHr0M6osJe
Australia is yet to be formally notified of the executions but the foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop, says we can assume it has happened. Bishop says the bodies of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran will be brought to Australia for burial. I was in contact with the families overnight. They are in a devastating position and I understand that they will put out a statement later this morning. Our concern centres on the fact that the apparent rehabilitation of Mr Chan and Mr Sukumaran was not taken into account. I expect to be able to discuss further aspects of our relationship with Indonesia when our ambassador, Paul Grigson, returns to Australia at the end of this week. Well it is very unusual, indeed unprecedented, for an ambassador to be withdrawn so I don't want to minimise the gravity of what we've done. Ministerial contacts have been suspended for some time once it became apparent that the executions were likely, ministerial contacts were suspended and they will remain suspended for a period. Apart from that, I don't want to personalise this because it's important that the relationship between the Australian government and the Indonesian government continue. The involvement of the Australian federal police was reviewed a number of years ago and changes were made. We are satisfied that the changes that are in place were appropriate but I don't believe today is the time to look for recriminations. Now is a time to be thinking of the Chan and Sukumaran families to spare a thought for what they are going through today and to provide them with all the support and assistance that we can. It's an appalling situation for them. First of all I absolutely understand people's anger. I absolutely understand people's anger. Yes, the drug trade is evil and these two committed a serious crime. But particularly given the last 10 years and the very thorough rehabilitation and reform that these two demonstrated, it is, as I said, cruel and unnecessary what has taken place. So I absolutely understand people's anger. On the other hand, we do not want to make a difficult situation worse and the relationship between Australia and Indonesia is important, remains important, will always be important, will become more important as time goes by. So I would say to people yes, you are absolutely entitled to be angry but we've got to be very careful to ensure that we do not allow our anger to make a bad situation worse.
The prime minister, Tony Abbott, has announced Australia will withdraw the Australian ambassador to Indonesia as result of the executions of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran. Speaking in Canberra he said: Australia respects the Indonesian system. We respect Indonesia's sovereignty but we do deplore what's been done and this cannot be simply business as usual. I want to stress that this is a very important relationship between Australia and Indonesia but it has suffered as a result of what's been done over the last few hours. Whatever people think of the death penalty, whatever people think of drug crime, the fact is that these two families have suffered an appalling tragedy and I'm sure that every Australian's thoughts and prayers will be with those families at this time.
Julie Bishop foreshadowed "consequences" ahead of the execution of Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, my colleague Daniel Hurst reports in a piece about the political reaction in Australia you can read here. He reports: Australia must respond strongly to Indonesia's execution of two citizens, the Labor opposition said, as MPs from all sides of politics expressed their anger at the "cruel and devastating loss".
Australia's foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop, will address media at 7.30am to speak about Australia's response to the executions. Here are summaries from Indonesia, Australia and around the world in the hours since the death, filed by AAP. I have just lost a courageous brother to a flawed Indonesian legal system. I miss you already RIP my Little Brother. I am sorry. I failed. I lost. Chan and Myuran Sukumaran's Indonesian lawyer, Todung Mulya Lubis. We stand in solidarity with the families of all those who were brutally executed in this senseless, tragic and wasteful act of state-sanctioned murder. It's awful, I know, but the two boys died well. They made their preparations, they were dignified. They're strong against the death penalty, they were supportive of their families. Chan and Sukumaran's lawyer, Peter Morrissey: Lives lost. Nothing gained. The opposition frontbencher Tony Burke: Those set to be executed are living proof of capacity to reform and rehabilitate offenders into productive members of society.
Journalists are reporting that Mary Jane Veloso, who was granted a reprieve from the execution squad, is on her way back to Wirogunan prison. Her lawyer has tweeted about her last-minute reprieve, to testify in a trial against an alleged drug smuggler and people trafficker. Never really over till it's over. What a rollercoaster ride that saps emotions &!tests grit. See you soon Mary Jane! We're bringing back your little boys to you!
We are hearing that Australia's foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop, will address the media about the execution of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran in the next couple of hours. The Greens leader, Christine Milne, has issued a statement calling the execution a "tragedy" and saying Chan and Sukumaran will be remembered for overcoming their past to live meaningful lives. Capital punishment must be abolished wherever in the world it is still carried out. We in Australia must continue to advocate for an end to capital punishment and promote human rights around the world, especially in our region. The lives of these two Australians have been ended by firing squad at the direction of the Indonesian government. I condemn this act in the strongest possible terms. Indonesia has not just robbed two young men of their lives but robbed itself of two examples of the strengths of its justice system. These executions significantly weaken Indonesia's ability to plead mercy for its own citizens facing execution around the world. As a close friend and neighbour of Indonesia, Australia is deeply hurt that our pleas for mercy were ignored.
Here's a quick glance at the front pages of newspapers coming out in the hours after the deaths of the eight people executed in Indonesia. In Brisbane, Australia, the Courier-Mail held its presses to put out a 4am edition after the men had been killed. Today's editorial - Indonesia's antics served only to insult and offend: http://t.co/x46XI0eUef #Bali9 pic.twitter.com/qlaMNemceS Front Page, April 29: Eight drug convicts executed despite concerted clemency calls from foreign leaders pic.twitter.com/4tVeKnOnRK First edition of today's paper, p1. pic.twitter.com/LqFF1SAa3E
The eight prisoners who were executed in Indonesia a few hours ago were initially denied a visit from a spiritual adviser from their religion. This decision was reversed and ABC is reporting the prisoners, including Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, were allowed their last rites. An ABC correspondent, Greg Jennett, who is in Indonesia, reports: They would have said a farewell after being blessed and given the last rites at one point. I expect and we have had indications that they won't say any more. They're going to leave Cilacap, they're going to try to be as obscure as they can to make their way home, to go back home for funeral services. The bodies will go quite quickly, so that puts some urgency in the travels of the families as well. Now, there has been a kind of media strategy on the part of the Chan and Sukumaran families to display their final grief or at least be open to the media. However, I think things change substantially this morning and there's no longer any reason, no purpose to lobbying any further. So I think for that reason they will largely disappear from public view until the funeral services in Australia.
Australian political leaders have been tweeting as they wake up to the news that Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran have been executed: The opposition leader, Bill Shorten: Our worst fears have been realised. Labor condemns the execution of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, in the strongest possible terms. The death penalty is barbaric and inhumane torture. Murder is murder. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of Andrew and Myuran. This is a cruel and devastating loss. For the record, for me the death penalty is an ethical issue. I cannot accept that it is justified in any country for any offence.
Hello, it is almost three hours since Indonesia executed eight foreign prisoners who were all convicted on drug charges. Mary Jane Veloso, from the Philippines, was given a last-minute reprieve to ensure she can testify at the trial of an alleged drug smuggler and people trafficker. Australians Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan were in the group executed about 12.30am local time on the prison island of Nusa Kambangan, off the coast of Java. Australia is just waking to the news. Continue reading...        |
| Bali Nine: Australia recalls ambassador as world condemns executions Posted: 29 Apr 2015 01:01 AM PDT Indonesia criticised after Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, four Nigerian men, an Indonesian and a Brazilian are executed by firing squad Indonesia's execution of eight drug offenders on Wednesday drew international condemnation and swift diplomatic retaliation from Australia, which announced the recall of its envoy to Jakarta over the "cruel and unnecessary" killings. Supporters of Mary Jane Veloso, a woman from the Phillipines who was also scheduled to die, celebrated her "miraculous" last-minute reprieve from the firing squad as Indonesian officials stressed her death had been "postponed, not cancelled". Continue reading... |
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| Bali Nine: Australia's clemency pleas weakened by fickleness on death penalty Posted: 28 Apr 2015 10:29 PM PDT Lawyer for Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran says Australia applauded the death penalty for Bali bombers so credibility 'a little tarnished' Continue reading...        |
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