6 former PMs unite for 2 Australians on death row

Six former Australian Prime Ministers were united on Tuesday to show their support for two Australians facing imminent execution in Bali, putting further pressure on the Indonesian government to reverse their decision.

Andrew Chan, 31, and Myuran Sukumaran, 33, were among nine Australians arrested in Bali in 2005 over a plot to smuggle 8.3 kg worth of heroin from Indonesia to Australia.

They have since been sentenced to the death penalty and are likely to face the firing squad in the coming days following a series of rejected clemency appeals.

Australia's last-minute pleas for their lives to be spared have so far fallen on deaf ears in Jakarta, leading to a rare show of unity between six former prime ministers from rival political parties.

Labor's Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Paul Keating and Bob Hawke, as well as the Liberal party's John Howard and Malcolm Fraser, pleaded for mercy for the reformed duo in statements delivered to News Ltd.

"I personally would find it heartbreaking if such extraordinary efforts to become of good character were not met with an act of mercy, of recognition of change," Gillard said.

Meanwhile, Howard said: "They committed a very serious crime, but have demonstrated genuine rehabilitation. Mercy being shown in such circumstances would not weaken the deterrent effect of Indonesia's strong anti-drug laws."

Rudd, who campaigned for clemency for executed Australian drug trafficker Van Tuong Nguyen in Singapore in 2005, said he remained staunch in his opposition to the death penalty.

"As a deep, long-standing friend of Indonesia over the decades, I would add my voice to my prime ministerial peers and respectfully request an act of clemency," he said.

Hawke stressed the need to realize the pair's rehabilitation over the last decade.

"These two men made a mistake when they were young and foolish, " he said. "They have served their incarceration with model behavior and I therefore urge and plead that the government reconsider its decision to now take their lives."

Keating described the death penalty as "a monstrous act which provides no atonement for a crime ... and for that reason, the Indonesian government should heed the appeals for clemency in respect of the two Australians in its charge."

While Fraser said he opposed the death penalty, he also disagreed with plans for Australia to withdraw its ambassador from Indonesia if the executions are carried out.

"We face an extraordinary difficult, if not impossible task if we seek to impose our value system on other countries," he said. " Suggestions that our ambassador should be withdrawn if, according to Indonesian law, the executions tragically take place, are extremely foolish."

Prime Minister Tony Abbott, in addition to foreign minister Julie Bishop and a host of diplomats, continued to urge the Indonesian government for mercy.

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