Mother's Day.

© The Courier-Mail

 

Many of us would have celebrated Mothers’ Day yesterday, so it’s timely to consider the terrible strain Andrew and Myuran’s mothers face every day.

 

In another of Cindy Wockner’s suite of recent articles on Andrew and Myuran, she details how these everyday Mums deal with an extraordinary situation.

 

Why not share Raji Sukumaran and Helen Chan’s story with your Mum, so she can add her support to Mercy Campaign.

 

 

 

 

 

Amnesty International supports Andrew and Myuran

 

Amnesty International has long campaigned for an end to the death penalty worldwide. Closer to home they have supported the Mercy Campaign for some time now, helping us try to save the lives of Andrew and Myuran.

 

Amnesty International has launched an urgent campaign to draw attention to the plight of Andrew and Myuran, and to encourage the Australian government to do everything possible to save their lives.

 

The Mercy Campaign supports Amnesty International’s campaign and encourages all Mercy Campaign supporters to visit their site and send a message to Foreign Minister Bob Carr - it only takes a moment to do.

 

Amnesty is aiming to get 10, 000 people to take action. At the time of this post, 8127 people had already told Bob Carr that they wanted the Australian government to continue to do everything possible to call for clemency for Andrew and Myuran.

 

 

United by calls for clemency.

Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop and Foreign Minister Bob Carr are united in their support for Andrew and Myuran.

Bob Carr has appealed to President Yudhoyono to grant clemency. Today Julie Bishop has made the Coalition’s position clear and added her voice to the growing chorus of the support for Andrew and Myuran:

"The Coalition is opposed to the death penalty and respectfully urges Indonesian President Yudhoyono to grant clemency to the two members of the Bali Nine who are still facing execution"

 

All Across Australia

Dear Readers,

You would have been hard pressed not to notice the raft of media coverage Andrew and Myuran got over the weekend and today.

We posted on Saturday about the prison guard who prays that Myuran will be spared the firing squad and promised there would be more links to come.

There’s been such a lot of coverage and that's really great to see. The more people that know about Andrew and Myuran – and how death row has changed them – the better. Here’s our pick of the best three pieces to read.

 

 

The Herald Sun - 'Bob Carr calls for Bali Nine members Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran to be spared death penalty' 
 

The Herald Sun really out did itself with a smorgasbord of coverage. With this article you can:

· View an interview with barrister Peter Morrissey, one of the lawyers working for Andrew and Myuran, on Meet The Press (Channel 10).

· View footage with Andrew and Myuran inside Kerobokan Prison.

· Hear from Mercy Campaign co-founder, Matthew Goldberg.

Matthew Goldberg, the co-founder of Mercy Campaign and Reprieve Australia president, yesterday said it would host Sydney and Melbourne events to release its campaign film and feature guest speakers and representatives of the Chan and Sukumaran families. "We want the Australian Government to do everything possible in support of their applications for clemency,'' he said. "We expect the Australian Government to speak unreservedly in support of its citizens and to pursue every avenue towards clemency.''

 

The Herald Sun - 'Bali Nine pair Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran's Mothers Plea for their sons lives

 

This article expands on the article mentioned above, with journalist Cindy Wockner meeting the families of Andrew and Myuran and finding out what is like to have a family member on death row, begging for their lives.

 

3AW - 'Bali Nine smugglers beg for clemency' 

 

This post from 3AW makes it in to our Top 3 just for the fab quote by Peter Morrissey, reproduced below. You can also:

· Listen to Foreign Minister Bob Carr talk to 3AW host Tom Elliott

· Hear more from barrister Peter Morrissey, one of the lawyers working for Andrew and Myuran

 

"These boys were immature, they committed a bad crime and when they were caught they didn't behave too well. Under the shadow of the death penalty, they've managed to do a lot of good for themselves and the prison community." "I've never seen anything like that," Morrissey said, speaking to Neil Mitchell on 3AW.

 

 

 

On the Public Agenda

There’s a great report here in the Herald Sun about a senior prison guard at Kerobokan who is so impressed by Myuran that he's been praying for clemency to be granted.

It’s so encouraging to see that news of Andrew and Myuran’s rehabilitation is getting out there.

  

At that same link you’ll find a really troubling video of Andrew talking about the execution process in Indonesia.

 
There’s been more coverage in the mainstream press throughout the day.

Stay tuned and we’ll keep you across all the key issues.