Execution 'carried out'

[foreigncorrespondent]

Melbourne man and convicted drug trafficker Nguyen Tuong Van has been executed.


Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs confirmed this morning that Nguyen, 25, had died on the gallows in Changi prison while his family, friends and supporters waited outside for the scheduled dawn hanging.


Nguyen's mother Kim Nguyen was not present, praying instead at a Singapore chapel with well-wishers at the time of his execution.

<snip>

A brief official statement, headed 'Execution of convicted drug trafficker', said: "Mr Nguyen failed in his appeals to the Court of Appeal and to the President for clemency.

More: http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/execution-carried-out/2005/12/01/1133422073898.html (Story 3 pages long.)

Ok guys, do you think our government should take this into consideration when they are looking at the flight plan request of (I think it was) Melbourne to Los Angeles for Singapore Airlines soon?

[Matilda]

1. Perhaps the government should think about it, but they won't

Howard won't do anything that might affect trade. I think the
government's inaction over Nguyen was pathetic - far too little, too
late. Maybe he should have given them a strong hint before the
event, but it's too late now.

I would support the ACTU boycotting Singapore Airlines - for 25
days no fuel, no service; one day for every year of Nguyen's life.

Having said that, I've struggled with this one - I really hate
people who traffic in heroin and I normally have no sympathy, but
I'm also opposed to the death penalty for any reason whatever. And
in this case, there were mitigating circumstances in the fact that
he was trying to help his brother pay off drug debts, or so he says,
and his lawyers have said he was given to understand that
co-operating with the authorities would help his case. He co-
operated, and they reneged, and that sucks. But what would you
expect from a country as corrupt as Singapore?

In the end, I came down on his side, not least because of his mother.
One son is an addict, and the other has been killed for it. Poor
woman.

[Violet_Crumble]

2. I didn't find anything to struggle over...

Like you, I'm opposed to the death penalty for any reason. But I don't hold hatred for drug mules - many of them are gullible victims of their own circumstances exactly the same as any addict. It's the top of the food chain that I reserve my hatred for. In this case the punishment was totally out of proportion to the crime, imo. But that's no shock, considering we're talking about Singapore...

While I thought all the boycott talk over Schapelle Corby was stupid, I'd also support an ACTU boycott of Singapore Airlines. Of course our lovely, caring govt would come down on any boycott like a ton of bricks, but it should be done regardless. And because I don't much care for boycotts of any kind, I did struggle over my initial travel plans next year where I was spending two days in Singapore on the way home. I came down on the side of changing my flight so that I stop over in Hong Kong instead...

Something that I've noticed bubbling away under the surface when it comes to Van Nguyen was that deep vein of racism that runs through our society. If he'd been white, Australian-born, mid-twenties, pretty and bimbo-ish, the govt would have dispatched a football team full of lawyers to try to save his life, but because he wasn't, Howard wouldn't even officially ask for clemency. And that Morgan-Gallop poll where nearly half the people surveyed said they support the execution of Van Ngugen, but when asked if they support the death penalty for murder cases, only 20 something % said they support it. So what's their reason for supporting the execution of Van Nguyen for drug-smuggling, but not supporting the death penalty in the case of murder? I kind of suspect some of it stems from Van-Nguyen being born in a refugee camp after his mother fled from Vietnam...

What I dislike the most (apart from the horrible pain it's caused his mother) is that in murdering Van Nguyen, Singapore guaranteed that some folk would go too far in their anger and start treating him like he was a saint. The fact that he did something (even if it was for altruistic reasons) really stupid and illegal has been pushed to the back-burner because of it...

Violet...

[Matilda]

3. If some people, like me, have been forced to examine their ideas

about the rights and wrongs of cases like this, I guess that's not
a bad thing. I've been among those who are inclined to say, well
everyone knows the penalty in Asian countries is usually death, so
deal with it, but I feel now that we collectively need to start
putting some pressure on these countries.

The worst aspect is the sheer hypocrisy - Schapelle Corby got
fifteen years, but in jail she can buy all the drugs she wants.
Michelle Leslie got off because she had rich connections who were
able to buy off prosecutors and judges. In Singapore, there is no
political democracy and their banks are holding millions of dollars
from drug smugglers in Burma and Thailand. It's time we start to
demand some accountability from these places where justice is a
sick joke.

I think Nguyen should have paid some penalty, but as you said - this
was way over the top. "The law must take its course" said Prime
Minister Lee, of the family that has total control of Singapore
and everybody in it.

[foreigncorrespondent]

5. I agree with you, mate!!!

I believe all of them should be paying some sort of penalty for the crimes they have committed. But death by hanging, or in the case of the Bali nine by firing squad isn't a punishment suited to the crime.

I wouldn't care what Corby got, if the Bali bombers had received stronger sentences.

[foreigncorrespondent]

4. I totally agree with one difference!

I am all for a public boycott of Indonesia. Not just because of what Corby has gone through. But mostly because of the way the Bali bombers have received very little in the way of punishment for killing innocent lives, while Corby rots in jail a hell of a lot longer for having pot on her. That is where I do not see any justice.

Did you see that Coward has used this as an example of _why_ young people need to stay away from drugs?

Also, did you see where Downer has lashed out calling a prominent Melbourne lawyer a creep for saying the government could have done more?

Both those can be found here: http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/let-this-be-a-warning-pm/2005/12/02/1133422078900.html

[Sapphocrat]

6. Barbaric bastards.

There is nothing "civilized" about any country that still performs state-sanctioned murder, for any reason.

And yes, my Aussie friends, that includes America.

I am absolutely sick over this.

[Matilda]

7. The ACTU have said they will impose bans on Singapore Airlines

if they think the Australian people will support them, so I emailed
them and said I would for one. Got a reply that it's being passed
on the Secretariat.

If anyone's in agreement with the idea, they could do the same.

[foreigncorrespondent]

10. Mate...

...you got an email address for this?

I know I would email them, but I am also sure Sapphocrat will as well. Between us, we use airlines quite a lot. The next airline of choice is still undecided by us (long story I won't go into now) but this will show that they are getting support from people out side of Australia who would also use Singapore Airlines to visit our country.

[no safe haven]

12. Hey, FC

Here it is:

http://www.actu.asn.au/public/site/contactsecretariat.html

[foreigncorrespondent]

15. Thanks, nsh...

...writing to them now.

[bunyip]

17. Thanks

Email sent

[no safe haven]

8. Mandatory death sentence, no appeal, no clemency.....

What passes for justice in Singapore is a travesty. Lee is a dictator, and those who do business with him and his authoritarian regime are no better.

Downer can get as sanctimonious and righteously indignant at being criticised as he likes; and Howard can warn kiddies with his ‘just say no to drugs’ mantra and try and dismiss Van Nguyen from his mind with his feeble rationale, but they are both still enablers and cowards for failing to call the Singapore government out at least 2 years ago. I’m all for ACTU sanctions against Singapore Airlines. People might also want to switch from Singtel/Optus to another telco.

I wish peace for the family, friends and supporters of Van Nguyen, all those who stood by him till the end, and hope that time eventually heals the wounds inflicted by the barbarity that occurred today in Changi prison in the name of ‘justice’.
:cry:

[Matilda]

9. Please let the ACTU know you support sanctions.

They're waiting to hear from the people before they go ahead - I
guess they don't want to hand Howard a stick to beat them with, so
they want to know they have public support.

Maybe Howard and Downer misjudged a bit on this one - I hope people
will keep up pressure for change in these extreme Asian regimes.

[no safe haven]

13. Done

I let the ACTU know I would support their move. I hope they find a way to carry through with sanctions. As far as I can see, the ACTU is the only voice of conscience left in this country that has any real clout, apart from Bob Brown.

[Generarth]

11. I'm against the death penalty in any circumstances

it's a crime.

[gemini_liberal]

14. My God! A board full of people that share my views on the death penalty.

Honestly I cannot say to people in real life that my beliefs prevent me from endorsing any act of killing another human being, including capital punishent, without most of them giving the lecture that "I am supporting the murderer or the rapist." Sometimes the biggest barbarians are your own neighbours.

As for this incident, coward's inactions do not surprise me one bit. Why would the evil little bastard want to go against the will of a government that he's trying to make his own government a replica of. He loves a system where everything is banned and people know their place, and the government's goal is pure economic gain - that is his utopia! Imagine if Singapore's government had a Socialist or Communist government - Coward would be calling for the overthrow of the "brutal tyranny."

As for Nguyen, I don't really despise drug smugglers, because I believe the tight prohibition of narcotic substances is somewhat of a cause of the problem, rather than the solution. I also I am annoyed at people who choose to blame people like Nguyen for drug abuse, when the truth is it is the person who takes it who is ultimately responsible for their addiction (I know it sounds insensitive, I assure you I understand, I am a former addict - not heroin, but other things.)

The thing that annoys me about this is the fact that the average Australian is upset about the execution, yet if he were to be caught here, those same people will be saying about how "scum like that should be hanged!"

Well, that's my two cents worth. Little Johnny and the corporate media would actually be happy about this, because it's distracting everyone's attention while the "Screw the workers!" and "Australian Fascism" bills get pushed through at lightning speed with very little exposure...

[Matilda]

16. This quote from today's News Review in the SMH in the cover article

by David Marr - referring to the changes in Singapore taking place
in the 1960s under Lee Kuan Yew:

"Singapore's enthusiasm for executing drug traders was ... part of
the implacable thoroughness with which the government of Lee Kuan
Yew was shaping the island's new society. Lee had gutted the once-
powerful trade union movement, ditched habeas corpus and tamed the
judiciary."

Sound familiar? Is that really Howard's blueprint for Australia?