Dear Editor,
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By any measure, the events in Indonesia last week were tragic for all concerned. However, the reporting has not been balanced and has glossed over the other side of the story.
If those drugs had made it to the streets of Australia, would there have been so much political intervention, so many vigils, concerts, petitions, pleas for mercy and offers of support to all those other Australians, and their families, whose lives would have been ruined or even lost? It’s a pity that all this effort could not be directed to meeting the drug problem we have here in Australia.
Blame for the death of these men has been placed at the feet of others including the Indonesian Government and the AFP, but the truth is that blame rests squarely on the individuals concerned. They knew what they were doing. Anyone who has travelled to Indonesia, or some other countries including Malaysia, are left in no doubt that the penalty for being involved in drugs can be the death penalty.