‘Double Standards’ Could Test Indonesia-Australia Relations in Drug Case: NGO
Jakarta Globe | October 08, 2011
Muhammad Rifan, an Indonesian lawyer for an Australian teenager arrested for drug possession, talks to the media upon his arrival at police headquarters in Denpasar on Friday. Rifan has said that the boy is feeling better after initially suffering from severe stress and anxiety. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati) Related articles
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470368The Indonesian children are younger, are held in horrendous conditions in ADULT maximum security prisons and the Indo Govt, Pak Marty especially, does not care at all. What happened to SBY's promise to look after Indonesians overseas??
I say just jail that bule kid for 20 yrs. He smoke ganja so he is a criminal and deserves jail. While for our innocent children jail in australia for doing nothing wrong,i say for us to go and attack australia and release our kid if they dont want to release those children....sometimes bule can be very kurang ajar...
It's interesting to note that an Australian NGO highlighted the plight of Indonesian juveniles behind bars Down Under, instead of our own Foreign Ministry or NGOs. It just shows that life is cheap in Indonesia,especially if you're anonymous, down&out and trying to make ends meet instead of being a bureaucrats' son(in which case you get the Foreign Ministry support) or a fashionably rebellious activist(which would get the NGOs behind your back). Sad indeed
Taylor is right on with his comments. The Indonesian justice system must be allowed to work and the Australian politicians need to be careful in their comments. Aussies need to remember the numbers of young Indonesian teens in detention from working on the refugee boats, some for many months without a trial.
These poor young Indonesian children incarcerated abroad are not the sons of bureaucrats therefore...Taylor is correct that both sides need to navigate through 2 different situations with diplomacy.
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The arrest of a 14-year-old Australian boy in Bali on drug possession charges will test Indonesian-Australian relations, an NGO said.
The chairman of the NGO Indonesia Institute, based in Western Australia, Ross Taylor said “double standards” applied to the treatment of the Australian boy in Indonesia and the 50 Indonesian children imprisoned in Australian adult prisons could cause a strain in relations between the two countries.
Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said he had told Australia’s ambassador to Jakarta, Greg Moriarty, to go to Denpasar and give the case priority. The boy was caught in possession of a quarter of an ounce (7 grams) of marijuana.
“Our foreign minister needs to be commended on his swift response to the apprehension of this 14 year-old boy by Bali police on charges of possessing marijuana. This is a traumatic situation for the boy and his family, and it needs fast and decisive action by both governments,” Taylor said.
“Our institute therefore supports Mr. Rudd’s strong stance, as children should not be placed in custody in adult prisons. This boy needs to be sent home. But we do ask why the Indonesian government has not yet taken an equally strong stance towards Australia incarcerating up to 50 Indonesian children in our maximum security prisons for simply being deckhands on boats bringing asylum seekers to Christmas Island?”
Taylor said the Indonesian government is reluctant to confront the Australian government over the imprisonment of children as young as 13-years-old.
“We are concerned that throughout Indonesia, people will start to ask why Australia acts so quickly to ensure the welfare of one child allegedly caught in possession of drugs in Bali, whilst 50 of Indonesia’s own children remain in prison in Australia for working on asylum-seeker boats? This incident has the potential to strain relations if both issues are not dealt with urgently and simultaneously,” Taylor said.
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