By James Xu '18
Just a few weeks ago, Indonesia drew global outcry and criticism after they executed eight drug-convicts, including two Australians, four Nigerians, one Brazilian and one Indonesian. The execution was postponed for one Filipino mother, who was convicted on similar crimes. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot recalled the ambassador from Jakarta on Wednesday morning, calling the execution cruel and unnecessary. An “appalled and outraged” Brazil recalled its ambassador earlier in the year because of the execution of another one of its nationals; South America’s largest nation claimed to assess the events as its people will reevaluate the attitude they will “adopt towards Indonesia.” France, with one of its nationals on death row, has also condemned the execution. Despite international outcry, Indonesia has remained calm. Attorney General M. Prasetyo claimed that the withdrawal of ambassadors would only be temporary, citing that the Netherlands and Brazil have done the same thing and that all cases “should have an end.” Indonesian President Joko Widodo, although demonstrating slightly apologetic attitudes towards western criticism, has announced his unwavering intention to clear the death row of drug traffickers, whom he said are “causing national emergency that required an unforgiving response.”Western media has portrayed the execution as a murder and blatant violation of human rights. Most developed European countries have placed a moratorium on capital punishment, believing that it is cruel, excessive, and unnecessary. They regard drug abuse as a disease and treat drug offenders with benevolence. They may be right; however, at best, the results offer inadequate support to the European way, as drug abuse/drug-related crime rates in the Western world has diminished at only a slow rate in recent years.Singapore, a country with one of the lowest drug abuse and drug crime rates on earth, may have found the best way to approach this issue. Singapore might have the strictest drug laws in the world, as shown by the chart below (Appendix 1) that represents various drugs and the required possession amounts before the death penalty is enacted. Although Gay Alcorn of the Guardian protests the execution of a Nigerian man carrying “only” 50 grams of heroin in Indonesia, the man has already exceeded the mandatory death penalty limit in Singapore by more than three times. With the most draconian anti-drug legislation in the world, Singapore’s methods have caused a consistent decline in the number of abusers incarcerated every year. As of 2012, there were only 2,000 arrests in a city of over 5 million people, an incarceration rate of just 0.0004%. With such a low rate, there is little drug trade on the streets and little to no subsequent drug related organized crimes running rampant within the nation.Such an approach, of course, will be labeled as blatant violation of human rights. But more importantly, it works. Indonesia, which borders Singapore, has been observing and is learning from the city state’s incredible feat. The Indonesian government has noticed that there is a method to Singapore’s madness, as the execution of seemingly trivial crimes is simply a step that follows the crackdown-like blueprint set up by the Singaporean judicial system. Indonesia admires Singapore’s success; that is why the president stands firm against criticism while insisting his unwavering intentions to crack down on drugs. The Western world does not have to agree with this particular approach, but they must realize that Indonesia, as a sovereign state, has the right to choose the most effective blueprint for its judicial system and stand by it. This core aspect of sovereignty once chosen by Indonesia should be met with understanding from other nations and certainly not with the condemnation that European nations have currently shown.
Sources:http://goseasia.about.com/od/singapore/a/Singapore-Drug-Laws.htmhttp://www.torontosun.com/2013/07/14/draconian-singapore-has-low-rate-of-drug-abusehttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/29/bali-nine-australia-recalls-ambassador-as-world-condemns-executionshttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/29/indonesia-murdered-two-australians-the-time-for-being-polite-is-over