Foreign Sex Tourism to Bali..

I read this the other day and sort of pondered whether to write about it or not. I pondered because writing about how the system fails so enormously might encourage pedophiles to chance their hand in the wild frontiers of child sex tourism that are the poor provinces of Eastern Bali. The most impoverished of the provinces; Singaraja, Buleleng, and Karangasem, are those that are most at risk.

Sadly, according to the report, it is predominantly Australians that are taking advantage of Bali's children and sexually abusing them. The reported figures are the tip of the iceberg as a great many of the outrages perpetrated against these children are never reported nor, if they are reported, ever pursued to prosecution. Nevertheless, this is not exclusively Australian perpetrators as there are offenders from all parts of the globe, including Europe (Germany, France, The Netherlands, to name but a few) and the US.

The problem though is not exclusively one of poverty, although poverty is a significant factor, but rather of apathy and corruption combined with an inordinate amount of red tape from a cumbersome bureaucracy that is not pro-active in protecting and supporting children who have been abused.

There were thirteen foreign pedophiles convicted of child sex offences in the period between 2001 and 2008. This does not seem like a large amount considering that there were more than 200 reported incidents of child sex abuse.  A local non-governmental organisation, Committee Against Sexual Abuse, estimates that there are some 150 pedophiles operating on Bali. It does not help that Singaraja does not yet record data relating to pedophiles or child sex crimes.

I appreciate that these crimes can be difficult to investigate and prosecute because not all children or their families are willing to report sexual abuse or suspicions of sexual abuse. I also appreciate that some families unwittingly sell their children into the sex trade in the belief that the "real" intent of the trafficker is to provide an education and a job. Then there are others who perhaps do this knowingly. However, what I cannot understand is why police would not want to investigate pedophilia in a more pro-active way considering that it is a known problem in the areas of Eastern Bali?

Although, in the big scheme of things I am probably less surprised than I should be that one can place a "price" on the violation of a child. Maybe it is just a simple case of everything has its price, and the price to turn a blind eye to the sexual violation of children in impoverished places is undoubtedly not that much.

Is the answer as simple as education and community outreach where men, women, and children are taught that it is not OK to be sexually abused in exchange for food or payment of one's school fees. There is no problem if someone wants to provide you food or fees for school as a gift, but this does not mean that you owe them the innocence of your children to pay off some alleged debt.

It would appear that the modus operandi is now one of "out of sight, out of mind" as pedophiles go further and further away from main urban areas in search of their victims.

What I do not get at the moment, and perhaps this is a lack of research, is why Australia is not more pro-active in pursuing Australian pedophiles wherever they may be found. Australia has laws on its statute books that provide for jail terms of up to 17 years and fines of up to AUD 500,000 for those convicted of child sex offences. The law has been drafted as such that the crime does not have to occur in Australia. The law simply states that anyone who engages in a sexual act with a child under 16 or grooms a child under 16 for sex is guilty of a crime, even where the offence is committed overseas.

The Australian Federal Police website includes a section on Child Sex Tourism and has forms to complete for those who have suspicions about Australians who may have committed a child sex offence overseas.

I am not sure what the point of this post is. It is an issue that bothers me and it is one that I think needs more attention. Perhaps, it is as a father of a young son I cannot fathom such an atrocity happening to him. Perhaps, it is because as an educator I feel a responsibility to ensure that children are safe and know what is acceptable and what is not, after all, our children are our future. Maybe, it is just that getting it out there will get us thinking about it and being more vigilant in our own worlds.

A Test Of The Australian and Indonesian Relationship...

The latest development in the Balibo Five case is sure to be a tester of the relationship between Australia and Indonesia. The latest development is that the Australian Federal Police (AFP) have decided to launch a war crimes investigation into the events surrounding the deaths of five journalists in the East Timorese township of Balibo. To be fair the enquiry must also include the execution of Roger East as well who was ultimately captured and executed on the foreshore of Dili.

It goes without saying that when the investigation became public knowledge that the Indonesian Department of Foreign Affairs did not respond positively. The Indonesians have considered this case a closed one pretty much from the time it happened. The response went along the lines of case closed and we will not be cooperating in any investigation.

Nevertheless, the AFP were between a rock and a hard place considering the findings of the 2007 NSW Coronial Inquest into the deaths which in essence concluded that there was a case to answer, at least for Yunus Yosfiah, and referred the matter to the AFP for investigation.

For Indonesia, and for many in Australia as well, the idea of letting bygones be bygones and focusing on developing a mutually beneficial relationship going forward is more important. Bygones can never truly be bygones until there is at least a sense that justice has prevailed. The Balibo Five and Roger East have not had any justice and neither have their families. In the end justice might in fact reveal that the Balibo Five were the unfortunate victims of an incident where they were caught in the crossfire between Indonesian and Fretilin troops. If that is the case, then so be it. However, if it turns out that the Balibo Five were the victims of an execution that was aimed at preventing them from getting the story of Indonesia's invasion of East Timor out to the world, then justice would entail that the perpetrators of the execution who remain alive must be brought to trial.

For me, there is no reason why a mature bilateral relationship between Australia and Indonesia cannot survive this investigation. The idea that the era of Soeharto has passed, which would seem pretty obvious now the man is dead, and that Indonesia is a different place to what it was in 1975, albeit true, does not hold water when it comes to justice. What happened in East Timor and the Balibo Five needs to be known, just because Soeharto is dead and Indonesia is a different place does not mean that the truth of these events should be swept under the carpet. The tribunals in Cambodia are testament to the need for justice to be given a chance.

In many ways there are arguments beyond just the Balibo Five that what occurred in East Timor, the now independent Timor Leste, were crimes of such a magnitude that an international tribunal is warranted. There are arguments to be made for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, Even though the genocide of the East Timorese might be debatable and may not be on the scale of the holocaust of the Jews during the second world war, a genocide is a genocide on whatever scale.

The allegations must be pursued until the truth is determined.

I will undoubtedly write on this subject again as it contains all the issues that are important to me both personally and professionally; Australia, Indonesia, and the pursuit of justice.

Antasari Azhar and Murder

What follows is a revised comment from this post on another topic where the question of Antasari Azhar (picture courtesy of Viva News) came up.

I have written elsewhere that where there is smoke there is most likely fire. I am going to go out on a limb and state that I am leaning towards there being fire in the Antasari case.

There are many commentators, Indonesian and non-Indonesian, who are suggesting that this is revenge and a frame-up.

In line with the smoke and fire analogy, the suggestion that this is a frame-up indicates a conspiracy of the highest order that could not conceivably be maintained and would unravel at the earliest opportunity. And, the court of public opinion might be split on guilt and the word on the street is not 100% one way or the other, but there are also plenty of people thinking that this is not the frame-up some are claiming it to be.

This is high profile and as such if it is a stitch-up as many claim, then there are so many others that could have been stitched-up other than Antasari.

Simply, there seems no point in bringing down Antasari if he is not involved.

Antasari has been caught out, at least with his pecker out of his pants and in the hands of an "educated" golf caddy who is being portrayed in the media as an excellent handler of sticks, or is that drivers, for the right fee. I cast no aspersions on the girl, I do not know her. Yet, I do not see any more happy endings on this one.

Let's face it, my reading of the news reports to date suggest, the girl is alleged to have panicked and called the police which really got the ball(s) rolling, so to speak. I would love to get a hold of her mobile phones and download the address book, they would certainly seem to be the veritable repository of contacts of the who's who of the Indonesian elite (and maybe the odd compromising photo or two), an electronic black book if you will.

The beauty of Indonesia is that it has a really short memory and the attention span is equally short. This is not something unique to Indonesia, but probably is relevant in this case. There were serious questions raised about the suitability of Antasari prior to his original appointment to the KPK. In fact, there were some interesting allegations raised about his extra-curricular activities. He was never convicted of anything and as such the allegations remain just that, allegations.

Nevertheless, this should be reasonable ammunition for the "I told you so" crowd that will inevitably appear.

However, I am far from convinced Antasari has been set up. The most likely scenario with what is available in the public domain is that Antasari was aware of corruption in a state-owned enterprise, and he probably became aware of this through Nasrudin. However, as horny old men are prone to do, Antasari was to busy getting his post-round workout with the caddy and forgot to move forward on the corruption documents and investigation. Nasrudin threatened to expose Antasari and then the rest you can probably work out for yourself.

Now all that said, I am all for due process and the Police and the Office of the Public Prosecutor still have to make their case in a court of law. If they do and Antasari is found guilty and convicted, so be it. If he is cleared of any involvement then so be it. Antasari can defend himself against the charges, through his legal team.

It is going to be interesting and fun to watch this one unfold.

Interpol, Drug Trafficking Networks, and the Bali Nine

The Bali Nine case has taken an interesting turn. However, this turn, no matter how interesting, is not going to impact on the sentences already handed down on the Bali Nine. The alleged drug trafficking network, which has seen Interpol team up with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the United States Drug Enforcement Agency to investigate the drug trade in Surabaya as this is the supposed entry point for heroin and other illicit drugs.

This is interesting because the AFP should have known about this considering they claimed to have broken a major drug trafficking ring at the time they gave up the Bali Nine to the Indonesian Police.

The cooperation will obviously include the Indonesian Police and more specifically the narcotics division. It seems though that this is a new development as it is being discussed as a recent discovery.

Strangely enough with the number of local drug busts and the increasing size of these busts it is hardly surprising that there is now a belief that major cartels and international drug organizations operate in an through the Republic of Indonesia. I guess the death penalty is not the deterrent that some claim it to be.

Australians, Vietnam, and Drugs -- A Deadly Mix!

I like to think my fellow Australians are smart but sometimes I have to wonder! It seems that every other week I am reading about an Australian somewhere in the world being arrested for drug related offences or trafficking. A lot of these places look a lot more harshly on drug offences than does the Australian legal system.

However, the issue for me here is the Australian Federal Police's involvement in providing intelligence to States were the death penalty applies and then allowing Australian citizens to be arrested in States where they might be subject to the ultimate penalty. If you break the law you should be punished. Therefore, this is not an issue of law and order but rather a personal opinion and concern about the severity of the punishment. Furthermore, it bothers me that the Australian Federal Police are playing a role in the killing of young Australians overseas.

I am ready for any flak on this issue and the position I have adopted. I am unashamedly anti-death penalty and even more vehemently opposed to it where a similar offence in Australia would attract the legal equivalent of a slap on the wrist.

This aside, my point is, if you know that you are putting yourself in the position where the ultimate penalty may be applied can you blame anyone else but yourself for your own stupidity? This should not be construed as the ramblings of a conflicted soul, as I am not conflicted!

Anyways, a couple of Australian women, Trang Bich Hong and Lam Mong Chinh were detained in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) after heroin (photo and with the chemical formula C21H23NO5) was found in their hotel room. Another unidentified woman was arrested at the airport carrying 250 grams of heroin. It seems that the AFP had been monitoring the three and tipped off their Vietnamese counterparts of the three women's role in a drug trafficking operation. I think that the AFP must be prevented from sharing any intelligence with States that impose the death penalty. If the AFP knows of a trafficking operation then they should take it down once it arrives in Australia, at least as far as Australian citizens are concerned.

After intense lobbying by the Australian government the Vietnamese government has not executed any Australians for drug trafficking despite a growing list of convictions. Nevertheless, Vietnam has some of the toughest drug laws in the world. Just 600 grams of heroin can see you sentenced to death.

My question is when will Australians learn that, sooner or later, if you continue to play with fire you will get burned?