Where's the Australian anger?

What is missing is Australian outrage. While Tim Lindsay and others may promote and even believe that an Australian public reaction along with 'interference' from the Australian Government will anger the Indonesian Attorney General, the prosecutor, and the police, which will result in a harsher penalty being exacted a key element is being ignored.


In Schapelle's case, the local authorities certainly had doubts that the 4Kg of marijuana was destined to be sold on the streets of Bali and the assertion that Westerners were charging tourists a higher price for Australian marijuana than they themselves were charging for the local product was dismissed immediately. They already knew that no one had ever imported marijuana into Indonesia and that it was Indonesian policy not to prosecute anyone on Bali for marijuana offences due to the fact that Bali is a Hindu region. So, even if their miraculous and profound ability to choose which state's evidence to avoid from the moment Schapelle's flight arrived and the lie that they saw the marijuana on the x-ray machine substantiated by the Chief of Customs at Ngurah Rai Airport were not indications that they planted the drugs in order to end the joint Australian/Indonesian task force on transnational crime and other 'interferences' that Howard had arranged (and it did end them) at the very least we know that the Indonesian Authorities knew that Schapelle was innocent when they prosecuted her.

So, how intent is Indonesia in punishing Australia? We know from the fact that Michelle Leslie was pretending to be a devout Muslim and enduring a burqa in the severe heat of Kerobokan being sure to pray five times per day as is expected of a devout Islamic woman and expressing remorse for her actions. Therefore, we have no choice but to accept that whether her Islamic devotion was a pretense or not it was impossible for her urine to turn positive to ecstasy given that it remains in the urine for no more than 48 hours after consumption. Therefore, her story that the prosecutor who also prosecuted Schapelle along with other officers of the court crushed up an ecstasy tablet and poured it into her urine is proven beyond doubt and the legitimacy of her arrest where the Bali Police had a camera crew in the back of their car to film this arrest is called into question.

We know for a fact that Andrew Grant was shot several times at close range in the chest and neck with automatic weapon's fire something beyond the means of the West Papuan separatist movement who make do with a handful of single load World War Two rifles. And, since the local Indonesian State Police blamed the Indonesian Military for the murder and explained it as an attempt by the military to show up the State Police as a poor choice for the Freeport Mines security contract this case at least has been solved. Unfortunately, Andrew, who left a wife and a new born child in Melbourne had no justice and instead of his body being flown to Darwin with an Indonesian Government apology and a promise to prosecute the offenders and make them pay reparations to his wife and child, it was sent to Jakarta so that the bullets could be removed - I guess the Indonesian Government wanted their property back and didn't want to leave any evidence of THEIR crime. But, no one mourns for Andrew Grant.

And where was the apology for Roger East and the Balibo 5? Roger East wasn't caught in the cross-fire while tied up with barbed wire after being dragged to the pier at Dilli. Was it the fog of war? Well the Balibo 5 couldn't have possibly died in the fog of war since they died weeks before the invasion. And yet this claim of being caught in the crossfire persists simply because the Indonesian troops were there illegally perpetrating another lie that the chaos and bloodshed was being done by Fretlin in order to justify an Indonesian invasion. How can we accept that the deaths were accidental because the troops who committed the crime were there to fabricate a lie? How can our government accept the refusals for the last 35 years to return their bodies? How can we swallow the fact that those who deliberately murdered our journalists were promoted and gained government seats for their actions.

The Bali bombers did not act alone. I have seen with my own eyes the phone records for the house where the Bali bombers were staying and the number belonging to the Military commander of the TNI in Bali featured heavily on this document. This General had called the bomber's house at least twice a day for weeks with the last call taken at the house only moments before the bombers left to murder and maim 100 Australians. This was an attack by the Indonesian Government on Australia and I regard the memorial to those who died there erected in Bali to be a mockery.

And now a 14 year-old boy who's only real crime was that he was a hormonally active 14 year-old boy gets enticed to buy marijuana by a drug trafficker who operates in Bali with impunity as an assault on visiting tourists and then the boy doesn't smoke or swallow it but instead does what 75% of hormonally active 14 year-old boys would do - he shows it to a woman to prove how grown up he is. Yes, he should be punished - a month without phone, X-box and grounded would be suitable and even a day in the police station to really scare the bejesus out of him... But a criminal prosecution?

So what is this key element that is being ignored. Indonesia really doesn't want Australians to get angry. They think we are weak and they are banking on it and they have agents in the Australian Government and in the Australian media who insure that we stay that way and accept Indonesia's terms and I call for legislation that makes it a treasonous offence for any Australian citizen to accept payment in money, goods or services from a foreign power to put that nation's interests before those of Australia. That would make a good start. Prosecute Pofessor Lindsay, Butt and several pro-Indonesian journalists for treason and then demand the return of the boy and Schapelle. Show Indonesia that we mean business this time. In this I agree with the EP and my opponents. We must make a show of disallowing the corruption that is involved in covering up Indonesia's unfair practices and corruption.

It's time Australian pragmatism was aired. Schapelle Corby was innocent and the Indonesian authorities were aware of this when they convicted her. She should be released immediately with significant financial reparations paid. The Bali 9 should be released on the grounds that the Bali Police deliberately murdered the man who took payment for the heroin to stop the money trail leading back to them. Michelle Leslie's record should be expunged on the grounds that the court and the police were guilty of deliberate corruption. Financial reparations should be made to the widow and child of Andrew Grant and the payment should be punitive. The 14 year-old boy should be flown back to Australia and all legal fees exacted from the boys family returned. It should be made very clear that should any other Australian be arrested in Bali there will be a full public enquiry held by the Australian Government to determine if the arrest was legitimate according to Indonesian law.

Indonesia should be warned that we no longer care how upset they get. Our efforts of appeasement and conciliation have been met with contempt and should Indonesia wish to escalate hostilities or harm Australians under their protection we will not stop until West Papua is a UN protectorate, Indonesia is regarded as a rogue nation that has mudered and stolen their way to success, all foreign aid paid to Indonesia will be done with insurmountable opposition from the populations of those nations that do so, all trade will stop with Indonesia at the behest of the human rights organisation that wield real power and the ruling elite of their corrupt little country will learn of the negatives of full disclosure and democracy.

All of the above are not my words but those ofone of our forum members.