Indonesia weighs into Triggs saga

A top Indonesian foreign ministry official has hinted that linking asylum seeker boat turnbacks to the death penalty, as the Australian human rights watchdog president has done, may carry some weight.

The federal government has lashed Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs for appearing to connect Indonesia's refusal to negotiate on death penalty cases to displeasure over the controversial border protection policy.

Indonesian foreign ministry information director general Esti Andayani says her country is disappointed Australia has not heeded calls to abandon boat turn backs.

"We are a little bit disappointed that (Australia) sends back boat people, while (Australia) is also telling us about human rights," she told AAP in Bandung, adding that both issues concerned human rights.

Australia's ambassador to Indonesia Paul Grigson returned to Jakarta this week, five weeks after being withdrawn in protest over the executions of Bali nine drug smugglers Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan.

* The reporter travelled to Indonesia as part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs journalists visits program 2015.