Longing for the day ...

Shame, Australia, Shame

There is no excuse for the attack on the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra. None!

We have no right to retaliate against any perceived injustice in the legal systems of another country. Especially not based on the impossibly limited information about the Schapele Corby case that has been documented in the Australian media. Unless you have sat through every day of the trial, you cannot possibly know enough about it to pass judgement - yet I am amazed at the number of people I know who do just that. She's either guilty or (more frequently) innocent just because they can't believe that she could be the other.

That's absurd and it's the reason why judicial processes have rules to follow.

However, from what I have seen and read, something about the verdict stinks - and there's an appeals process to follow that will hopefully shed some light on what's transpired. Anyone who's followed social justice issues knows about the miscarriages of justice that have occurred in this country and others. The Indonesians don't have a monopoly on getting verdicts wrong.

Only this year a West Australian man was released after a lifetime in jail for a murder he did not commit. It was only because of the determined efforts of his family and a journalist that the truth was eventually uncovered - nearly 30 years later. There are, unfortunately, other such cases in Western legal history.

So, while I don't agree with John Howard about many things, he's spot on about this one. I hope a certain Sydney Shock Jock, who referred to Indonesian Judges and bananas, is hanging his head in shame.

Australia is not the sort of country that commits acts like this outrage.