The pressures facing President Joko Widodo:
In
regards the current direction of Indonesia, the omens
are not good. Jokowi's problems are not just about picking a corrupt
police chief or emasculating
the KPK; bigger politics is at play. I (and others) remain concerned
about
Chinese territorial encroachment. This is not helped by the push from
the USA, in which Australia is seen as complicit because of the
positioning of a permanent Naval base (ala Subic Bay) in Darwin.
Everyone
is playing with fire at the moment, just look at the Ukraine. The last
thing we want is to escalate conflict into WW3, especially
our simmering regional conflicts. If Indonesia allows itself to be
drawn, it will make itself a plum target.
In regards the political show, Megawati is running scared. For sure the KPK will deepen
and speed up its enquiry into BLBI corruption. This will force her evermore into a
corner. Golkar /PPP still have leadership problems and the onset of increased
TNI involvement is there for all to see.
Colin Singer
Religious intolerance:
While
he did many good things, SBY stood by and let religious tolerance be
ripped to shreds. Will President Jokowi be any different? I truly hope
so.
I feel these are very dangerous times for Indonesia and
our region. Jokowi is showing all the signs of being rendered lame and is being undermined from his own people. The instability
is palpable.
Ross Taylor
Executions:
Jokowi continues to dash any optimism I had about his
newly appointed
leadership. I thought he was more astute. As far as the Sukamarun and Chan matter
goes, the case of the drug kingpin with the commuted sentence makes an absolute mockery of these
executions. You can bet too, when this Javanese drug kingpin slips out
of prison in a couple of years he will be straight back to the
vice, in fact he's probably running his business from jail now. Whereas Sukamaran and Chan I'll bet just want to go home and
reboot simple lives and repay their family for the grief they've caused.
The Indonesians could do well to tackle the
rampant vice and extortion rackets going on by Balinese organised crime games
in bali's Kuta, turban, Legian,Seminyak precincts just a few kilometres from the walls of Kerobokan jail.
Neil Robinson
There is absolutely no doubt about two aspects of all this:
1. The AFP will have blood on its hands - and their
role and reason has not been totally transparent thus far,
2. Whatever the outcome, the overall Aus-Indo Relationship
will inevitably be affected negatively.
Graham Hornel
Published comments in media:
To execute 2
Australian citizens after having been in jail for 10 years for a crime that
would have seen them if rehabilitated back in society in Australia will be
viewed as barbaric and insulting not only in Australia but the whole civilised
world.
Who did these two
work for? These drugs would have originated outside of Indonesia so how did
they get to Bali? Why did the AFP have to inform local Balinesse police? When
did murder become right
The Indonesian prison
system is corrupt and it's said to be very easy to get hard drugs in prison. In
my opinion, these two have lived a positive, drug free existence, for ten years
with drugs available around them. I believe they are reformed. But whatever,
Jododo, or whatever his name is, is going to shoot them for political points
with the anti-foreigner brigade.
It's a pity, really,
that Australia didn't try spending money to save them as Indonesia is being
accused of doing. But let's face it, this pair of photogenic goons, for all
their sentimental natures, aren't poster boys for a boy scout holiday.
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