that's the problem with bigger countries..
WITH regard to Singapore's decision to hang an Australian citizen because he was carrying drugs, please consider for a moment the following questions:
Answer: His mother, other members of his family and his friends, not the young man himself.
Answer: Every citizen of Australia.
Answer: I will let you ponder that one yourself.
Peter Lowe
Australia
Response to Q1: Erm, so if the dude who brought drugs in to Singapore and sold it to other dudes who take the drugs, get high and then die of overdose or ruin his life.. won't the mom, family and friends be suffering too? Oh, so only Australian mothers are allowed to suffer when their sons are hanged for drug trafficking, but other mothers do not have the right to suffer from their children's drug abuse? If you know you are betting with your life, then be ready to lose it and also be ready to let your family members suffer. Is it a selfish act on the part of Singapore to hang someone who's selling drugs to our kids? Or is it a selfish act on the part of the dude to cause such trauma to his family and friends..?
Response to Q2: Maybe every citizen in Singapore is offended and insulted by some Australians' disregard for our laws. But then again, it doesn't matter right, since we're a small country.
Response to Q3: How do you think Australia (being so up yourself) is regarded by the civilised world? I will also let you ponder that one yourself. (and by the way, what has one's culture got to do with this issue? Was that what we're supposed to ponder about? Hmm, i'm still thinking about the link between the two)
posted by wc at 3:45 PM
3 Comments:
how do you define human rights in a modern context? what is the INTERNATIONAL court of justice there for? what implications are there for international relations?
this guy is young and foolish. he agreed to smuggle the drugs to gain the money to help pay off his brother's debts - not the kind of chap who'd knowingly agonise his family.
how many more people have been hanged (or are going to be hanged) for 'serious crimes', and how many families are suffering because of what these people have done - and how many of these cases have gone unknown by us, the uninformed public?
that Lowe's statement - perhaps not every citizen of australia is offended. there are many out there who do support a tough stance against drug trafficking, but of course their opinions would be under-represented. but perhaps again, every citizen can be offended by singapore's lack of humanity - where the mother of the condemned man is not even allowed to embrace him until he is released by the prison. furthermore, he is to be hung by the noose. just how ancient is this practice?
"Australians' disregard for our laws" - how so? they are not disregarding singapore's laws. if they did, they would have taken the case to the ICJ in the first place. it is precisely because they have to take our laws into consideration that they are having such an outcry and appealing for clemency.
and about culture? it is not the culture of one's race. it is the entire mentality of a nation. the civilised world may think singapore barbaric. more than 120 countries have banned the death sentence, what about singapore?
i do acknowledge that there might be some lack of humanity involved in this case. but the way that a few aussies go about saying how barbaric we are, is in fact disregarding our laws, not in the literal way, but with regards to showing respect to our country.
personally, i don't think the death sentence is the best way to deal with people who committed serious crimes, but just because more than 120 countries have banned the death sentence, it does not mean that we are barbaric and hence, to be "civilised", we have to ban the death sentence. the death sentence seeks not to take away lives, but to serve as a deterrent to people who think about committing serious crimes like murder and drug-trafficking. These crimes themselves take away lives.
The issue I feel strongly about is not the way our laws are. I don't think we're totally right or wrong in this matter, but I feel the need to defend my country when people of other nations criticise and call us barbarians or inhuman when sometimes they should really take a look at themselves and try correcting their own flaws and weaknesses before judging others. Singapore does things its way and has shown that its way does work. Crimes are low, people are living harmoniously. Other nations have their own issues to look at before they look at ours and try sorting us out.
have u ever thought about why there is a death sentance for drug trafficking?
your government is scared that the citizens of singapore might get high- not be a robot and harder to control!!!
overdosing on drugs is rare, more chance of a trafic accident!
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