The Australian Catholic University has defended creating two scholarships commemorating executed drug runners Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.
Vice-chancellor Greg Craven has been surprised at the outpouring of hatred he's received since the university announced the "mercy scholarships", which are not named after the Bali Nine duo.
"These are not scholarships in memory of men who once were drug runners," he wrote in The Australian on Monday.
"They commemorate men who died reformed, redeemed, courageously and uncompromisingly human."
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said the creation of the scholarships was an odd thing for a university to do.
However, Professor Craven said it was "pitilessly stupid" to believe someone who committed a crime was never worthy of recognition for any subsequent virtuous acts.
Other critics asked how the university could commemorate men executed in accordance with Indonesian law.
Professor Craven's defence: universities dare to tell the truth.
"The actions leading to these men's deaths were shabby, partial, cruel and indecent," he said.
"(The execution) were not the sovereign acts of the Indonesian state, let alone the Indonesian people. They were the exercise of naked power by the Indonesian executive."
But Indonesia's vice-president Jusuf Kalla said the move was not appropriate.
"If it was respected people, let's say scientists or Australian heroes, Indonesia would definitely agree," he said on Monday, as quoted by Indonesian news website detik.com.
"But the name of criminals for a scholarship, that's less than appropriate."
