Why Schapelle "Matters"
Schapelle Corby is a 27 year old Australian who deserves a "fair go" and that also means a fair trial. Chapelle, a 27 year old Gold Coast student was arrested late last year after arriving as a tourist in Indonseia on her way to a Bali holiday.
A 4.1kg bag of marijuana was found in her "Boogie Board" bag. Under Indonesian law, that mere fact makes her GUILTY (game, set, match) and liable to face death by FIRING SQUAD. Is Chapelle guilty of drug smuggling? HIGHLY UNLIKELY! Guilty beyond reasonable doubt?...DEFINITELY NOT! Let's consider the following - firstly - is there any other plausible explanantion of how the drugs came to be in her luggage? CERTAINLY YES! (They could have been placed there by anyone with access to baggage between Brisbane and Sydney).
Is there ANY evidence linking Schapelle to the purchase or possession of the drugs - NONE of which I am aware. Is there any evidence of a motive?? Not when you consider that the drugs found are only worth a fraction in Bali of what they are worth in Australia! Is there any evidence of a "plan" for disposal of the drugs in Bali - NONE of which I am aware. The thing that really gets me is that NONE of this matters in the context of Chapelle's Indonesian trial - according to the law in Indonesia, the onus of proof is on the defendant to prove her innocence.
So, that brings me to the statement in the heading - "Why Schapelle Matters" .. precisely because she is NOT guilty BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT and she is not considered INNOCENT until proven GUILTY. And the point is, that EVERY Australian that goes to Bali potentially exposes themself to the risk of being in the same positon as Schapelle. So, when you consider the masses of tourists that visit Bali from Australia and the financial injection that represents to the Indonesian economy, it would seem inconceivable that we, as thinking, intelligent people will continue to go to that place and "reward" that country with our tourist dollars after watching one of our young citizens being subjected to the most unbelievable treatment at the hands of the Indonesian authorities - think about it ... if you have ever gone to Bali (or if you ever go in the future, it could be you in Schapelle's place. (It won't be me because I will NEVER go to BALI after this!!).
Schapelle "matters" becuase she is the personification of EVERY Australian tourist that has ever gone, or will go to Bali - if we sit back and just passively watch this "horror" play out, we will be not just letting Schapelle down but we will be letting ourselves down as a country - It's clear that our Government is "committed" to creating freedom for Iraqis - WHAT ABOUT OUR OWN CITIZENS!!!
