My thoughts on Van Nguyen's impending execution
I feel compelled to write after reading a friend's blog on this issue.
It is definitely something that goes beyond:
"showing contempt" for Australia (on the part of Singapore) - which then brings us to the sovereignty argument - "We are a sovereign country, so you better bloody not interfere. Anyone who practices megaphone diplomacy (i.e. giving a public lecture to another government) is somehow a "Western" imperialist."
Well, for me, I don't believe that there's a thing called "Asian values" or "Western values" - they are ultimately a construct by certain authoritarian leaders to justify their political legitimacy. In the first place to begin, "Asia" is such a vast continent to lump them all into one monolithic entity.
I also think that argument that goes "death sentence is a deterrent to future would-be traffickers" is highly dubious. I mean, in the capitalist market, the death sentence will do nothing to deter people - because it simply ups the ante, it makes it more lucrative to traffic drugs. There'll always be people who'll think "luck is on my side" and so on.... and the potential monetary value is going to exceed whatever value of life that there may be on the other side of the equation. That's why people suggest we should legalise heroin and make it cheap, so that it kills off any incentive to traffic drugs.
If you want to solve this scrouge, you got to tackle it at the source, not the drug mules.
Killing Van Nguyen is not going to solve the problem, which IMO, is getting more rampant. There'll always be desperate people who are willing to take the risk.
The reason why we Singaporeans and Malaysians are so willing to support our government is because we think it's patriotic to do so, and somehow, we simply buy what the gahmen tells us to do. But my point is, the media is so censored in our countries. I mean, can you really consider our media fair when the ST only publishes the fact that John Howard does NOT want to bring Singapore to the ICJ? What about the role of NGOs and civil society that has been campaigning so hard for him? The Australian media might not be fair and biased, but let's not make any pretense that our media back home is anything but balanced.
It's, you know, not only a matter between governments. If we really want global justice, I think it's about time we paid more attention from what Richard Falk calls "globalisation from below." I believe in one humanity, and the sanctity of life. No matter how severe his crime may have been, I don't think taking his life serves any purpose that the gahmen claims to have. Although I'm a bit ambivalent with crimes against humanity - stuff like genocide etc - I do think that Saddam Hussein deserves to be executed. And add GW Bush to the list.
Like what Katie Holmes said in Batman Returns,
"There is a difference between justice and revenge."
By all means, pursue justice. But revenge is always wrong. And that is what people who argue that "we should execute Nguyen because if we don't do so, we are yielding to neo-colonialism and all the other vestiges of white supremacy" are trying to prove - i.e. revenge.
I think, countries cannot justify their actions by playing the sovereignty card. The international system only stands because there are international norms that set the standards. And I think, it is pretty obvious that more countries do not prescribe the death penalty for drug trafficking offences.
Anyway I'd better conclude since this is getting rather long.
I am a universalist, as opposed to a relativist. That is, I feel everyone has individual and collective human rights, regardless of circumstances. I don't buy the argument that because "we are Asian", we somehow like to be restricted in our freedom of expression or worship. Of course, I do accept that there are flaws in my argument in that it is plausible to say that trafficking kills so many people out there and deprives them their right to live. But then again, who is the government to intervene? Can one ever be rational?
And urm obviously, I don't think Nguyen should be executed. But I'm no "Western" lackey or whatever you want to put it. I strongly feel that you can't say "we are sovereign country, so stay out of my affairs". For one, I don't agree with Howard's statement that "we decide who comes into Australia and in what circumstances" - he said that in relation to the Tampa incident in 2001 - and that of course brings you to the question of - do refugees have rights? Well, of course yes. And I certainly don't think that killing Van (or anyone who is guilty of trafficking) is going to solve the drug problem, which might I add, is not receding. We've just simply went on to use ketamine and speed.