by | February 20th, 2006
Vietnam has given 2 Australian drug traffickers clemency following an approach from the Australian government. Mai Cong Thanh, 46, and Nguyen Van Chinh, 45 were on death row in Vietnam, but the Vietnamese President, Tran Duc Luong gave them both clemency.
Vietnam has a history of executing drug traffickers and shows that a foreign government can lobby successfully to change a sentence. Two of the Bali Nine, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran are facing the death penalty and Australia will try the same strategy. Maybe this precedent will give SBY the leeway he needs to let them off the hook.
{ 3 comments }
why should these scumbags be let off the hook Nick?
That comparison is really not relevant Nick? Please allow me to demonstrate this notion with a simple analogy. On one occasion I visited Northern France and met a girl who was willing to participate in excitingly pleasant bedroom acrobatics. However, I would not expect to receive similar pleasures in, lets say London, if I were to meet a girl there. Reason being, they are two different countries with two different cultures. Thus, Vietnam’s rulings show little relevance and a lot of idiotic optimism when compared to the Bali 9. On a different note, facing death is in itself being let off the hook because now these parasites do not have to suffer in the confines of a ruthlessly run prison for the rest of their lives. If anything, I think the criminals should be taken to a public arena, surrounded by video cameras and allow the Prosecutor to whip both of their buttcheeks purple with a vine extracted from the Indonesian jungle, and then and only then should they face the death penalty. I would pop some popcorn and eat licorice twists while watching that on television. Yes sir! In all seriousness though, the fact that this case has become so publicized pretty much ensures that zero leniency will be shown. After all if the Indonesian Gov’t backs down then they will appear weak and susceptible to outside influence. Not like they have much respect outside of their little beach resort of a country anyway but still even the third world has some pride at stake.
bigboy99, I was simply commenting on a newspaper article. Maybe a case in Vietnam is not relevant at all, but the lawyers for the Bali Nine might try to connect the dots. Bear in mind a lot of stuff goes on behind closed doors. SBY has to appear tough on drugs, but would privately probably like to avoid shotting Australians.
The Australian government would like to avoid that too and a precedent from another strict S Asian country might make it easier for him to intervene. I don’t think its likely, but if I was one of the Bali Nine I would try anything possible.
By the way I’m interested to hear about your ‘excitingly pleasant bedroom acrobatics’ in France, on a purely anthropological level of course. You can email me at nick at bootsnall dot com. I’m always interested in learning new things.
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