Govt, opposition appeal for Bali Nine pair

A lawyer for Bali Nine pair Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran says it's a very raw time for the pair. Source: AAP

THE federal government and opposition have made a further plea to the Indonesian president to spare the lives of Australian drug smugglers Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan.

THE plea came as Indonesia's ambassador to Australia said his country was not "trigger happy", but was concerned about the thousands of drug addicts who died each year.

Sukumaran, 33, and Chan, 31, were on Wednesday taken from Kerobokan prison in Bali, to Cilacap in central Java and on to Nusakambangan island, where the executions will take place on a day to be decided. They, and eight other drug offenders, will get at least 72 hours' notice."On behalf of the parliament, I respectfully ask of the Indonesian president that he spare the lives of these two Australian citizens," Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told parliament.Ms Bishop spoke with the families of the men earlier in the day."As you can imagine they are devastated but they are just living day by day," she said.A plea for clemency was rejected by Indonesian President Joko Widodo in January and since then the government has been seeking a permanent stay of execution.Ms Bishop said there were grounds for clemency and the government believed there were still legal avenues open to the pair, based on their remorse and rehabilitation after almost 10 years in prison.Labor foreign affairs spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek added the opposition's voice to the government's efforts."We would plead with the Indonesian government and the people of Indonesia ... for the lives of two young men who have made enormous transformations in their lives and who are making enormous transformations in the lives of other people as well," she said.Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said Australia wasn't asking for Chan and Sukumaran to be forgiven or freed, only that they not be executed.Mercy Campaign co-founder Matthew Goldberg said the sight of men being moved from Kerobokan was distressing, but still hopes President Joko will spare them.The government has made at least 22 representations to Indonesian officials since January, Attorney-General George Brandis saidThis includes letters and phone calls from Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Ms Bishop and the Australian Federal Police.Indonesia's ambassador, Nadjib Riphat Kesoema, said the death penalty was being widely debated in his country and government circles."We are not trigger happy. We do it for a very big reason," he noted, saying 1500 Indonesians died each month from drug addiction.The ambassador said he expected the executions would affect diplomatic relations between Australia and Indonesia.But "our relations (are) far beyond the interests of the two people", he said.Mr Abbott said millions of Australians would be "feeling sick in their guts" about what's to come."Whatever might happen in the next few days, the relationship with Indonesia must endure and over time it must grow stronger," he said.A planned trade mission to Indonesia has already been postponed and other upcoming meetings may be scrapped.

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