Jakarta recalls envoy-designate to Brasilia
Indonesia has recalled its envoy to Brasilia following the Brazilian president’s refusal to accept the diplomat’s credentials amid a row over the death penalty handed down by Jakarta to a citizen from the Latin American state.
On Saturday, Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry said it summoned back the ambassador-designate to Brazil and “strongly protested the unfriendly action” by Dilma Rousseff, who postponed accepting the credentials of Toto Riyanto to a later date.
“We deplore the Brazilian government’s decision to delay at the last minute the acceptance of the Indonesian ambassador-designate’s credentials,” the ministry said, adding that no country can meddle in law enforcement in the Southeast Asian state.
Rousseff refused to receive the Indonesian envoy’s credentials to express her anger at the planned execution of Rodrigo Gularte, 42, who was sentenced to death in 2005 after he was caught smuggling cocaine into Indonesia.
The Brazilian leader said clearance for Indonesia’s representative would be “held up a little” over the impending execution of Gularte, whose family has appealed for a reprieve, saying doctors have classed him as paranoid schizophrenic.
Gularte’s compatriot, Marco Archer, was also executed in Indonesia by firing squad in January for drug trafficking despite an appeal from the Brazilian president for mercy.
The development comes as Indonesia has recently postponed the execution of two convicted Australian drug smugglers on death row amid a similar tense standoff between Jakarta and Canberra over the fate of the two prisoners.
Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were arrested in 2005 and sentenced to death the following year for trying to smuggle heroin out of the Indonesian island of Bali into Australia.
Last month, Brazil and the Netherlands recalled their ambassadors to Indonesia after the Southeast Asian country brushed aside their appeals for clemency and executed their citizens over drugs offenses.
More than 138 people are on death row in Indonesia mostly for drug crimes. About a third of the convicted people are foreigners.
SSM/MKA/HRB
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