Execution of "Bali Nine" Convicts on Death Row Outside Bali : Pastika

Reporting by Ni Luh Rhismawati Denpasar, Bali (Antara) - Bali provincial governor Made Mangku Pastika has hoped the Attorney General\'s Office not to choose Bali as location to conduct execution of two Australian convicts on death row. \"We hope the (execution) is not in Bali. Just a call, because I cannot decide nor reject it as this is the unitary state of Indonesia,\" Pastika stated here on Monday. The two Australian convicts on the death row; Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran. The governor is of the view that if the execution of part of the \"Bali nine\" case members is held in Bali, it is feared to leave psychological effect to the Australian citizens (in Bali). \"There are a great number of Australian people in Bali. Many visitors in Bali are Australian tourists, and they consider Bali as their own home\" Pastika said. Meanwhile, the Attorney General HM Prasetyo said in Jakarta on January 15 that the execution of \"Bali Nine\" member Myuran Sukumaran still had yet to wait for the decision of Andrew Chan`s request for pardon. The Australian citizen has been sentenced to death for being convicted of smuggling 8.2 kilograms of heroin to Indonesia. The government decided recently to implement the death sentence on six narcotic convicts. Myuran Sukumaran`s request for a presidential pardon has been turned down while that of Andrew Chan, another member of Bali Nine, is still being processed. Prasetyo said according to regulations if the crime is committed by more than one, execution must be done at the same time. Bali Nine refers to nine Australians caught on April 17, 2005 in Bali attempting to smuggle 8.2 kilograms of heroin to the island from Australia. The nine people are Andrew Chan, Myuran Sukumaran, Si Yi Chen, Michael Czugaj, Renae Lawrence, Tach Duc Than Nguyen, Matthew Norman, Scott Rush and Martin Stephens. The district court in Denpasar, Bali, has sentenced Lawrence, Czugaj, Stephens and Rush to life in prison and Sukumaran and Chan to death.(*)