chrisb wrote:It won't discourage potential drug runners one iota. It's just political posturing by a weak leader who is trying to make himself look tough to gain public acclaim and win elections.
This situation is not unlike that of Victorian Premier Sir Henry Bolte who hanged Ronald Ryan in Victoria (the last execution in Australia) in the 1960's. It didn't help Bolte's reelection and let's hope that it doesn't help Widodo's either.
Not to mention that by all accounts these 2 drug runners were reformed and performing a useful function for society while they were living.
BTW, Is it just a coincidence that Schapelle Corby was attractive, and so was the Filipino maid who had a last minute reprieve from the gun?
What a load of crap.
You really think people won't think twice if offered $$$ to be a drug smuggler??? Only a fool with a death wish would take the risk especially now its been shown no matter how much public support or legal wrangling or even threats from your government you have on your side, your still going to pay the price.
Its annoying when people say or think Jokowi is a weak leader, the only reason people/media say that is because he does not have a military background but its a perception and not the reality, the reality is not long after Jokowi got in as PM, he cut Indonesian fuel subsidies saving Indonesia 8 to 10 Billion USD a year, this is probably the biggest most ballsey move an Indonesian leader has ever done, anyone in the know has been saying for years it should be done but its obviously not a popular move among the public and if people remember the riots in Indonesian in the 90,s that sent Indonesia into chaos, these where all about fuel price increases, luckily this time nothing erupted but it could have, if that does not show strength then i don't know what does?.
Compare this to previous PM SBY, he was useless he did nothing, didn't have the balls to cut fuel subsides, these people were on death row for so long partly because of him, he didn't have the balls to grant these guys clemency because if he did it would be hugely unpopular in Indonesia and he didn't have the balls to allow their sentences and others to be completed..why?….because he was scared of International fall out.
Yes partly its a political move, but everything governments do are political moves, end of the day the people on death row are their because they did serious crimes and courts sentenced them and as i mentioned above all Jokowi in reality is doing is allowing the process of the legal system to continue because SBY had pressed the pause button because he was truly a weak leader because he was scared to make decisions and upset people..
Reformed…Yes they had a gun held to their head for ten years, we would all do anything to get the best chance of clemency and get support from our government and people, I'm atheist but id probably become a pastor too if it was going to give me a better chance of saving my life.
As for not getting re-elected, if your thinking another Indonesia leader would be better, well then you have no idea who the other option in the last election was Prabowo and you ca bet he would have done exactly the same, only difference is he might not have been so patient with time wasting last minute legal appeals…after al they did have nearly ten years for all that.
So much negativity directed at Indonesia from Australia recently, especially whinging about the death penalty when the reality is USA on average puts to death in one year about the same number of people as Indonesia has over the last 15 years (about 50 or less) while China puts to death an estimated couple thousand people a year, but we hear little about this.
