Thursday, February 16, 2006

I failed...

...to keep this a non-political and non-social commentary site! Then again, what do you expect for an MA student who studies politics and international relations?

I'm sorry, but another two Aussies copped death sentences in Bali for organizing a heroin smuggling ring that was to send about 8,000 hits worth of heroin to Australia. I know that there are some elements in Australia that think this is too harsh. I don't agree. they knew the risks, they have seen recent reports of other Aussies receiving death and life sentences for the same crime. If those 80,000 hits got into Australia, how many others would have had their lives ruined? They knew the chances, thought they were invicible, and took a fall. Too bad. Their seven cohorts, who were supposed to be so-called "drug mules" all received life sentences.

What is regrettable is what the parents have gone through. They are told by their kids that they are going interstate for a holiday, only to find out through the Aus government that they have all been arrested in Bali for drug trafficking charges. As if the emotional shock isn't bad enough, these parents have to get to Bali to be present for the court trials and to support their kids, and turning their lives upside in doing so.

These kids have demonstrated utter foolishness and selfishness, and although the penalty is harsh, they knew full well what they were getting themselves into.

2 comments:

Observer said...

I talk about virtually every political topic under the Sun in my blog, but never really the drug war. Not because I don't know anything about it, but because I don't know what to do about it. The libertarian impulses in me tell me that we should just let people screw themselves up if they want. But the realist in me understands that the whole libertarian philosophy doesn't necessarily take into account something like addictive drugs which hurt not just you but cause ripple effects far around you that are unavoidable.

Phil said...

My folks back in Australia look after teens in trouble. They're operating in the SE suburbs of Melbourne. A chap was hanged in Singapore a couple of months ago for trying to smuggle a large quantity of heroin out of Thailand. He got caught swapping flights in Singapore (only because his cell phone triggered the metal detector, in turn forcing a mandatory body search). He lived and operated in the same area as where my parents assist these teenagers. They hate to think about the impact he would have had on these teens and others if he would have made it through.

Australia is reasonably well divided over this issue. There is a deep resentment of the SE Asian use of the Death Penalty (particularly in the case of Singapore as this was a first offense for the fellow that eventually hanged) but many Aussies remain concerned about the drugs coming in from that part of the world.