Our hearts go out to Corby

Our hearts go out to Schapelle Corby, the Australian sentenced to 20 years in an Indonesian jail for drug trafficking. Who among us does not feel grieved by the ordeal she is facing? I myself, however, am even more concerned about the reaction of "fair-minded, clear-thinking Australians" like Kevin Taylor whose letter to the Indonesian people appeared in the May 27 issue of The Jakarta Post.

Is the Indonesian verdict really so out of line, as many Australians claim? Had Corby been flying to Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur instead of Bali, wouldn't she be facing the firing squad right now instead of a 20 year jail sentence?

If Corby was the innocent victim of an Australian baggage handler's drug smuggling enterprise, as Taylor suggests, why are Australians focusing their rage on the Indonesian judicial system? If there was a discrepancy between the weight of Corby's luggage when she checked in and when she arrived at Denpasar, accused of smuggling 4.1 kg of drugs into Bali, what are Australians doing to catch those guilty of such a heinous crime against one of their own citizens?

What would have happened if the situation had been reversed and an Indonesian woman had been caught with drugs in her baggage in Sydney? Would the Australian court have been as lenient as the Indonesian court has been with Corby? Were traditional Indonesian fishermen, who lack modern navigational equipment, treated justly when Australian authorities capsized or burned their boats and left at least one to die in Darwin?

How sympathetic can we expect Indonesians to be about Corby's case when Indonesian citizens are treated so harshly "down under"? What can we say about Corby's "fair-minded and clear- thinking" countrymen who called into radio talk shows saying they regretted having made donations to the Indonesian tsunami victims? What does that have to do with the case? And would it not be as detrimental to Australia as it would be to Indonesia if Australians boycott Bali (their favorite backyard playground) and all Indonesian goods?

We can understand how such comments and threats might be made in the heat of the moment, but in the long-term we would hope for a more rational reaction from "fair-minded, clear-thinking Australians".

Let's take a more positive position by supporting those defending Corby and battle this case through the system. Let's leave the case to the Australian lawyers being sent to Corby's aid and trust that justice will be served.

ROSELLA M. KAMEO, Salatiga, Central Java