Indonesia recalls newly assigned envoy to Brazil over delay

Indonesia says it has recalled its newly designated ambassador to Brazil to protest the abrupt postponement of the approval of his credentials.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff welcomed ambassador Toto Riyanto at a ceremony yesterday in the capital, Brasilia, but delayed approving his credentials amid tensions over the impending execution of a Brazilian citizen in Indonesia for a drug offense.

Indonesia's foreign ministry said in a statement Saturday that it was unacceptable to delay the approval of the credentials when the ambassador designate was already at the palace.

Rodrigo Gularte is currently awaiting execution in Indonesia along with seven other foreign drug offenders from Australia, France, Ghana, Nigeria and the Philippines. Another Brazilian citizen, Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira, was executed by an Indonesian firing squad last month for a drug offense.