RESPECT DEATH SENTENCE CALL, SAYS INDONESIA

Indonesia has asked the international community to respect a court's
decision to impose the death penalty on several foreign citizens found
guilty of what was described as one of the biggest ecstasy plants in
Southeast Asia.

"We want to stress that this is part of our sovereignty. We ask other
countries to respect our legal system, including if their citizens are
sentenced to death because of their crimes," Foreign Ministry
spokesman Kristiarto Soeryo Legowo told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

He said that the death sentence was handed down through a fair and
independent trial with consideration of the impact of the crime on
Indonesian society as a whole.

Kristiarto said that other countries should understand that Indonesia
was strict on drug producers and traffickers due to the destructive
effects of their crimes.

"We have also noted that although several countries have abolished
capital punishment, many countries, including Indonesia, still keep it
in their legal system," he said.

Indonesia has launched a crackdown on drugs offenders, saying stiffer
sentences are needed to stem the flow of narcotics into and out of the
country.

The European Union on Thursday condemned an Indonesian court for
sentencing two Europeans to death for drug offenses, urging the
authorities in Jakarta to abolish capital punishment.

Dutch national Garnick Nicolaas, Frenchman Serge Atlaoui and five
Chinese nationals were sentenced to death.

"The European Union strongly deplores the handing down of death
sentences by the Supreme Court on May 29, 2007, for two European Union
nationals, five Chinese nationals and two Indonesian nationals," the
EU said in a statement.

"The European Union calls on Indonesian authorities to refrain from
handing down death sentences and from carrying out
executions."

Indonesia carries out the death penalty by firing squad.

The European Union is opposed to the death penalty and has repeatedly
expressed support for the universal abolition of capital punishment.

On Wednesday, the Dutch authorities also lodged an official protest
with the Indonesian Foreign Ministry against the death sentence handed
down to Nicolaas, a Dutch citizen.