Human Rights Groups Should Stop Protesting Against Convicts' Execution: Commission

Jakarta (Antara) -- Commission I of the House of Representatives (DPR) has asked human rights institutions to stop protesting against the recent execution of six drug convicts to prevent it from evolving into an international issue. "I think human rights institutions had better stop their protest. It (the execution) shows legal firmness, so it should not be exaggerated," Chairman of Commission I of the DPR Mahfudz Siddiq said here on Wednesday. He fears that if protests against the execution of the drug convicts are prolonged, it will come under the spotlight from the international community, which may threaten Indonesia's image abroad. Death penalty for drug convicts is the correct step to take in view of its larger negative impacts, and it should not be seen as a human rights violation, he noted. Siddiq enquired about the motive behind the objections voiced by the human rights institutions, stating that the execution of the six drug convicts, including five foreign nationals, was not the first of its kind in Indonesia. "Why are institutions launching protests against the execution of these drug convicts when they did not do so when terrorism convicts were put to death?" he questioned. (*)