Too much talk about Corby

Too much talk about Corby

Let us imagine a young Indonesian woman is on trial in an
Australian court. If guilty, she will be sentenced to life in
prison. Her case touches the fears of many Indonesians about
Australia, its attitudes and court practices. Will she get a fair
trial? What if the Australian justice system, so alien to
Indonesians, is corrupt? Indonesian public opinion is strongly
behind the young woman. The country's leaders feel they must take
a public stand and starting with the president, begin none-too-
subtle heavying of the Australian judge. Imagine this possibility
and ask: How would Australians react?

They would be insulted and angry -- no, outraged. They would
decry any foreign attempt to influence the court. The judge would
be praised for rejecting out of hand any arguments adduced in
this blundering way, and for keeping to due process. Yet change
the details, and this is precisely what Australian politicians
are doing in the Schapelle Corby case.

The Prime Minister, John Howard, says he has not prejudged
the case, and he understands that Australians would be angered if
the roles were reversed. But he has given the lie to both
assertions by consenting to a letter from the Attorney-General to
Corby's judges which mentions that police are investigating
airport baggage handlers over allegations of drug trafficking.
The Opposition Leader, Kim Beazley, has gone further, saying he
feels for Corby, and hopes the verdict will be "true and fair and
right and just". His words seemed so close to a declaration of
her innocence that he later had to deny he had made one.

Part of Indonesia's democratization, which has been
proceeding, despite setbacks, since the downfall of Soeharto in
1998, is the establishment of independent courts and the
appointment of impartial judges.

In making their public pronouncements on the case, Mr Howard
and Mr Beazley are pandering to Australian public opinion which
has been pained by the nightly footage of Corby's obvious
distress and is asking why politicians are doing nothing to save
her.
-- The Sydney Morning Herald