HEROIN & OPIUM
Indonesia's Execution Of Drug Traffickers
Indonesia's Execution Of Drug Traffickers
Indonesia
has executed eight convicted drug traffickers, seven of whom were
foreign nationals from Australia, Brazil and Nigeria. They
were all found guilty as charged and all international pleas for clemency
were rejected.
Australia:
Using 'Aid' Threats As A Lever In This Matter Was Highly Counterproductive
What
surprised me about this incident is that the Australian government
spent more effort in its diplomatic attempts to obtain a
Presidential clemency than it did explaining to its citizens the
dangers of drug trafficking across borders in South East Asia.
The
worst mistake made was the extent of the publicity it undertook
rather than 'quiet diplomacy' with threats in a semi-hysterical
xenophobic Australian media about future foreign aid to Indonesia
and linking its NGO and direct government aid work for disaster
relief to the outcome of clemency appeals for its nationals in cases
of drug trafficking convictions.
For
myself, this represented the height of arrogance and an insult to the
dignity of Indonesia as a country.
I
could continue by discussing the racial strife between White
Australians, peoples of color and Australians of the Islamic faith
inside Australia itself but such are problems for Australia to
resolve independent of this issue in hand. I only mention them
because both Brazil and Australia have similar racial strife issues
with regard to peoples of different ethnic backgrounds.
section
deleted
Do
You Remember The Opium Wars?1&2
You Should,Because Even Today Drug Traffickers Have Destroyed Whole Communities, Societies and Countries In The Caribbean, and In Central and In South America
Indonesia
has a very serious problem with addiction of its own citizens to hard drugs.
It's
not on the same scale as Afghanistan or Mexico, Colombia or
Trinidad but it is insidious and destructive to Indonesian communities
and families.
If
foreigners (sic. European and Australian passport holders) are perceived as 'above the law' this
sends the wrong 'message' to Indonesian citizens as they attempt
through education and social rehabilitation programs to keep their
own local communities 'drugs free'.
Clash
of Cultures
It
is not uncommon to observe Australians and New Zealanders in
particular being highly disrespectful of the culture and traditions of the
countries in South East Asia where they find themselves either in
temporary residence or on holidays.
For example, being drunk in public in Christendom is very different from being intoxicated in public in a Muslim country - and the penalties can be draconian in some places.
I could give many examples from my own personal observations but that is beside the issue.
For example, being drunk in public in Christendom is very different from being intoxicated in public in a Muslim country - and the penalties can be draconian in some places.
I could give many examples from my own personal observations but that is beside the issue.
[Even though the U.S. is not very well-liked in some parts of the world, I have never seen Americans, as tourists or residents, in public, disrespectful of local people anywhere I have traveled. Since the film Midnight Express, few are crazy enough to traffic narcotics in Muslim lands(!); [please could you note that I am excluding the remarks of the former U.S. Ambassador to India - which were untypical of anything anywhere I ever came across in public.]
section
deleted
What
I can say is that Indonesia and other South East Asia countries have
become somewhat tired of lax or conflicting or contradictory attitudes of the West to hard drugs and executions of convicted
drugs dealers is one way of sending their own very clear message to the
nationals of such countries and their respective governments – that
they traffic narcotics at their own risk with no sympathy from the
Indonesian authorities if caught and convicted.
Where
Our Real Sympathies Should Be
Of
course I have sympathy for those executed individuals and their grieving families but having at first hand
witnessed the highly destructive, pernicious and soul-destroying
effects of addiction to heroin and opium on children, parents, families and communities in a manner that no other activity has, I cannot but think that the
Australian government is better served educating its own citizens
about the dangers of trafficking drugs in general and in particular out of or into countries which have
the death penalty in place for convicted offenders rather than
attempt, in essence, to bully South East Asia nations into doing its
bidding as was the case on this occasion.
These
countries have the death penalty in place for drug trafficking for very good local
reasons.
Indonesia
has sent a very clear message to Australia and to the rest of the
world – which they ignore at their own peril.
©Patrick
Emek, 2015
amended version
typographical errors ('its') corrected on 30th April, 2014
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/04/29/ri-executes-8-drug-convicts.html
1.
2.
Midnight Express
Here is a former diplomat's take on both Billy Hayes and 'Midnight Express':
3.The real Billy Hayes speaks about the movie 'Midnight Express':
http://www.seattlepi.com/ae/movies/article/The-real-Billy-Hayes-regrets-Midnight-Express-1134196.php
Drug Trafficking - A 'Not To Be Missed' Film:
4.
5.
