No Last Post for Nguyen
Nero fiddles while Rome burns and Howard plays cricket while civilization as we know it dies.
THE PM’s XI cricket match should be called off because it is to be played on the same day of Australian Nguyen Tuong Van’s scheduled execution, a Labor senator says.
Senator George Campbell said today it was insensitive for Prime Minister John Howard to attend the match on Friday.
Australian Democrats senator Natasha Stott Despoja agreed, saying she felt sickened by the prospect that Mr Howard would attend the game on the same day that an Australian would be executed.If we needed any proof that Nguyen’s imminent death is being used as a political cosh to attack Howard then this is it. Ian Moore in an article in todays Australian says Don’t blame PM for other people’s sins;
The belief seems to be that their predicament is not the result of their own illegal behaviour; it is all the fault of the Prime Minister. This is not some fanciful notion; this charge has come from the families of those concerned, and from Opposition Leader Kim Beazley, no less. The problem is, they appear to believe it.Michell Leslie
“What has really shocked me is the amount of anger levelled at me, especially from the Prime Minister,”Her Father, Albert
…complained about the “un-Australian” treatment of his daughter and blamed Foreign Minister Alexander Downer for taking no interest in his family.My father, Leslie Albert, always said
Son, once you are an adult, you are responsible for your own actionsI hope the PM enjoys his day at cricket. God knows he doesn’t get much free time and I will spend Friday doing whatever I have to do. I will pause, and I think the PM will as well, and feel sad about Nguyens fate but I will not afford him the honour of a minutes silence. That I reserve for Veterans who died honourably in the service of their country.
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I think the concern is that the economic relationship between Australia and Singapore is apparently of
more important than this man’s life.
The simple fact is that this man is being killed (ie: heart will stop, neck will crunch) for importing 400 grams into Singapore…. yet he had no even passed into Singapore. He was in transit at Changi airport. How can this be moral ? How can it be just ? He co-operated in every way possible yet no leniancy ?
Would we still have Apartheid in South Africa with a softly softly approach ?
And one more tiny thing….
To hear people say “he needs to take responsibility for his actions”, is fair enough. Yet its the
people who claim he is a murderer for being a drug dealer. I suppose those drug addicts need not
take responsibility for their habit hey ?
The case of Nguyen Tuong Van illustrates just how risky it is to smuggle drugs into Singapore. But, I wonder how many people realize just how risky it is to travel to Singapore period. Many drug smugglers do not want to risk actually getting caught with drugs, so they bribe airline baggage officials in various countries to allow them to stash drugs in some passenger’s baggage. Then, someone else waits in the destination country to “collect” the drugs from the host passenger once he/she arrives and clears customs. But, sometimes the passenger does not clear customs. In that case, since the Singaporean judicial system places the burden of proving innocence on the defendent, the defendedent is often not able to offer an adequate proof of innocence.
Eric,
Your point might be relevant for future drug traffickers and travellers in general who may end up being unwitting mules but in Nguyen’s case he admitted carrying the drugs on his own violition.
BB,
I suppose those drug addicts need not take responsibility for their habit hey ?
You’re dead right but I think the terms addict and take responsiblity are mutually exclusive.
I’m watching the cricket and having a beer. The economic and military relationship between the two countries bears not one whit upon Singapore’s internal judicial system. Should we stop Singapore using Australia for it’s training purposes? Buy back the defence communications infrastructure that Singtel own via Optus? Stop Singapore Airlines flying into Australia? Get every Australian ex-pat out of the country? Remove all trade and diplomatic relationships?
He’s gonna swing like a soap on a rope on Friday. And there is absolutely nothing that will stop it.
Seeming that John Howard has copped more crap than ever over the Nguyen Tuong Van saga what else can he do? These are 3 steps in making the PM more PC.
1: The PM should not only not attend the PM X1 Cricket match but to rename it The Nguyen Tuong Van memorial X1.
2: Why just 1 minutes of silence? Make it a national day of mourning plus make it a national holiday called Nguyen Tuong Van Day. That would give us time during the day to protest outside Singapore airline or Singapore Embassy.
3: Start calling Nguyen Tuong Van a Martyr so the Vatican can speed up the Benediction process for St Nguyen Tuong Van to be the first Patron Saint of Drug Smugglers. Miracles could be attributed to smugglers who pray to Nguyen Tuong Van who help them get through Singapore customs with large quantities of smack.
Something has to be done about the arrogance of the Singaporean authoritarian government. Unfortunately, Australia is not a very strong country, and it’s leader seem clearly lacking in courage and forcefulness.
If a citizen of a powerful country is ever on death row in Singapore, I’d like to see the leader of that powerful country tell the Singaporean government unequivocally that if they carry out the execution, it will be treated as an act of war.
Then, if they were to go ahead and executed him anyway, I’d like to see two cruise missles launched taking out both the President and the Prime Minister of Singapore, followed by a warning to whomever replaces the eliminated leaders that another execution of one of their citizen will result in Singapore’s sovernty being completely revoked.
One can argue that Singapore has a sovereign right to execute drug smugglers, even when there are mitigating circumstances. In fact, one could even argue that Singapore has the sovereign right to execute those who chew gum. But, history has shown that a county’s sovereign rights only go so far as that country’s power. Throughout history, one country has constanty had its sovernty revoked by another. Furthermore, Nietzsche has asserted that there is no absolute good or evil, and ultimately it’s power that determines what is right.
It’s time for Singapore’s sovernty to be revoked, and for some powerful country to plunder it. I don’t believe in boycotting product; I believe in kicking some ass.
Eric von Schonberg