Two Australian prisoners were executed in Indonesia overnight and the local fallout has been drastic. Australia's prime minister called the deaths of the men "cruel and unnecessary," and will make the unprecedented move of removing Australia's ambassador in Indonesia.
Myuran Sukumaran, 34, and Andrew Chan, 31 -- who were convicted of attempting to smuggle 8.3 kilograms of heroin from Indonesia to Australia in 2006 -- were shot in the heart in an isolated field, along with six other prisoners, in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Australian time.
The Australian people and government had gone to great lengths to express their disgust at the move by the Indonesian government to execute two of their countrymen.
The repercussions from the executions have been extensive, from the highest levels of government down to the ordinary people of Australia. A majority of Australians -- 69% in a recent Lowy Insitute poll -- are fundamentally opposed to capital punishment for drug crimes. The death penalty was abolished in Australia in 1967.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who had worked tirelessly in their efforts to spare the two lives, spoke candidly about their sadness in a press conference on Wednesday morning. Abbott said Australia "deeply, deeply regrets these executions in Indonesia."
He said the executions were cruel, due to the decade-long wait the men had endured to be killed, and unnecessary, because the men had both fully rehabilitated themselves in prison.
"Australia respects the Indonesian system, we respect Indonesia's sovereignty, but we do deplore what has been done, and this cannot simply be business as usual," he said in defiance. "For that reason, once all the courtesies have been extended to the Chan and Sukumaran families, our ambassador will be withdrawn."
"I do want to stress this is a very important relationship between Australia and Indonesia, but it has suffered as a result of what has been done over the last few hours," he continued. "Whatever people think of the death penalty, whatever people think of drug crime, the fact is these two families have suffered an appalling tragedy."
[img src="http://admin.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/bali1.jpg" caption="Prime Minister Tony Abbott has called the deaths "cruel and unnecessary." " credit="" alt="bali"]
Bishop, who stood beside Abbott, reiterated the prime minister's stance on the "senseless" nature of the deaths.
She said she received confirmation of gunfire at the Indonesian island where the executions took place at 3:30 a.m. AEST. "It is with a very, very heavy heart, that I confirm, despite our ongoing efforts right up until the very last minute to seek a stay of execution, our Australian citizens Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were put to death early this morning," she said.
She said the government's main concern was that the rehabilitation of the men was not taken into account by the Indonesian government. Chan had become a priest in prison, while Sukumaran became a renowned artist. Both men had been teaching other prisoners art, English and computer lessons for years.
"Rehabilitation is a fundamental aspect of successful prison systems.... Both were spending their time in jail helping to reform and improve the lives of other prisoners in the Indonesian prison system," Bishop told the media. "They were examples of the hope and transformation that can come about through reflection, rehabilitation and remorse."
The devastated families of the men, released a short, emotional statement on Wednesday morning. They thanked the government and people of Australia for their support.
"Today we lost Myuran and Andrew. Our sons, our brothers. In the 10 years since they were arrested, they did all they 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."
Australians, many who supported the men through various petitions and vigils, showed their outrage at the executions on social media, with some stating they would boycott the popular Indonesian tourist destination, Bali. Under the hashtags #BoycottIndonesia and #BoycottBali, hundreds of tweets flooded Twitter in an outpouring of anger.
Bali just died to myself and thousands of other. #boycottbali #BoycottIndonesia— Flicsh (@fleeatweet) April 28, 2015
Will never go to Indonesia. Never ever. #BoycottIndonesia— CB (@badboybowman27) April 28, 2015
Civilised countries do not execute people. My family will never holiday there now. #boycottindonesia #boycottbali— Sam G S (@MissWildChild) April 28, 2015
Time to #BoycottIndonesia I reckon. Unforgivable.— Max Kinnings (@maxkinnings) April 28, 2015
Family,friends,myself will NEVER return to #Bali again! #Bali9 were executed this morning!DISGUSTING!will have wedding reception elsewhere!— Nini V (@theniniv) April 29, 2015
You gave them 10 years rehabilitation and took their lives away. I know 1 place il never visit, condolences to the family #BoycottIndonesia— Kirra (@KirraBeckley) April 28, 2015
Abbott said Australians were entitled to feel anger, but to not take matters into their own hands. "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," he said.
For some, a simple question to the Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who has a hardline stance on drugs, was enough.
Indonesia #Why? #Bali9— Ste Whitehead (@WhiteheadSteven) April 29, 2015