Sunday, October 30, 2005
John Howard: for or against the death penalty?
The Australian government, as an opponent of capital punishment, is obliged to do all it can to ensure that the death sentence is not carried out.
Nguyen was caught red handed at Singapore Airport with 450g of heroin strapped to his body. He cooperated fully with the police and has even helped out the Australian Federal Police with inquiries that led to an arrest in this country. None of this seems to have helped his case and summary execution is due to be carried out. In Singapore, trafficking heroin carries a mandatory penalty. Nguyen has therefore been denied any opportunity to demonstrate to the judge why he should not be killed.
I am no fan of Foreign Minister Alexander Downer; however, his public pronouncements, stating Australia’s and his own condemnation of capital punishment have been genuine, loud and heartfelt.
In contrast, our Prime Minister’s attitude is evasive and dismissive. So far, John Howard has not made a personal plea to the President of Singapore for a reprieve from execution. While this may not save Nguyen, a plea from leader to leader would posses great gravitas.
This suggests to me that Howard is not quite the opponent of the death penalty we should expect from the leader of the Australian government. "People have to understand that when you go to another country and commit a crime against the laws of that country, you are punished according to the laws of that country," he has said.
Howard’s backbench colleague, Wilson Tuckey, a West Australian Liberal MP at least spelled it out, when he refused to sign a petition to save Nguyen. He said executing [him] is no worse than the danger Nguyen put Australians in when he tried to smuggle heroin into the country.
It is still a huge step from Tuckey’s statement and Howard’s sentiment to re-instating the death penalty in Australia, but the more our leaders comments drift to the far-right, the shorter that step becomes.
See also
John Howard: for or against the death penalty?
Posted by Living with Matilda at 2:54 PM
The Australian government, as an opponent of capital punishment, is obliged to do all it can to ensure that the death sentence is not carried out.
Nguyen was caught red handed at Singapore Airport with 450g of heroin strapped to his body. He cooperated fully with the police and has even helped out the Australian Federal Police with inquiries that led to an arrest in this country. None of this seems to have helped his case and summary execution is due to be carried out. In Singapore, trafficking heroin carries a mandatory penalty. Nguyen has therefore been denied any opportunity to demonstrate to the judge why he should not be killed.
I am no fan of Foreign Minister Alexander Downer; however, his public pronouncements, stating Australia’s and his own condemnation of capital punishment have been genuine, loud and heartfelt.
In contrast, our Prime Minister’s attitude is evasive and dismissive. So far, John Howard has not made a personal plea to the President of Singapore for a reprieve from execution. While this may not save Nguyen, a plea from leader to leader would posses great gravitas.
This suggests to me that Howard is not quite the opponent of the death penalty we should expect from the leader of the Australian government. "People have to understand that when you go to another country and commit a crime against the laws of that country, you are punished according to the laws of that country," he has said.
Howard’s backbench colleague, Wilson Tuckey, a West Australian Liberal MP at least spelled it out, when he refused to sign a petition to save Nguyen. He said executing [him] is no worse than the danger Nguyen put Australians in when he tried to smuggle heroin into the country.
It is still a huge step from Tuckey’s statement and Howard’s sentiment to re-instating the death penalty in Australia, but the more our leaders comments drift to the far-right, the shorter that step becomes.
See also
Posted by Living with Matilda at 2:54 PM
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| I am employed by Brisbane City Council. All views expressed in this blog are my own and in no way reflect the views of my employer. |
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