Indonesia's Attorney General Muhammad Prasetyo speaks to journalists about the upcoming executions at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia April 28, 2015.
IN PHOTO: Indonesia's Attorney General Muhammad Prasetyo speaks to journalists about the upcoming executions at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia April 28, 2015. Nine drug traffickers met their families for what could be the final time at an Indonesian maximum security prison on Tuesday, after Jakarta rejected international pleas for clemency and ordered their mass execution to proceed, possibly within hours. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside

Indonesia expressed sympathies to the families of drug convicts Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran. The official statement came from Indonesia's ambassador to Australia after the Australian men had been executed by Indonesian authorities.

Ambassador Nadjib Riphat Kesoema said that his country acknowledged how the executions had affected the bilateral relation between Indonesia and Australia. Australia earlier withdrew its ambassador from Indonesia as a means of a protest against the executions. Australia’s clemency appeal for Chan and Sukumaran went in vain as Indonesia refused to approve so in drug-related crimes.

"Indonesia understands the views expressed by the people and government of Australia on the law enforcement measures taken against the two Bali Nine drug smuggling ringleaders," Kesoema said, "The Indonesian people and government express our sympathies to the families and friends of the deceased. He admitted that it was a difficult and challenging period for Australia-Indonesia relations.

Kesoema’s statement also acknowledged that a healthy relation between the two countries was important for his country. He stressed that media should play a “proportional and objective" role in rebuilding the relation between the countries. He said that Indonesia was strongly committed to improve and strengthen our overall bilateral relations.

Kesoema added that Indonesia would need the continued support of the media for coverage and reporting while it was on the process of rebuilding the “important bilateral relation” with Australia. He also said that Indonesia valued the significant role of the media in helping to narrow the gap in misunderstanding between the two peoples and to pursue the common interests of Australia and Indonesia.

Indonesia is expected to carry out another series of execution later in 2015. Indonesian Attorney-General HM Prasteyo earlier said that it would be early to speculate about the next executions. However, he said that authorities knew from their experience that the next executions would be “more perfect” than the previous ones.

Prasetyo said that the Bali Nine executions should serve as a warning to the others thinking of trying to commit narcotic crimes to rethink. Chan and Sukumaran were among eight prisoners who had been executed at 00:35 a.m. on April 29. The Australian men waited in Indonesian prison for 10 years before getting executed on Wednesday.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au

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