More on the SBY Trip to Holland That Wasn't...

Well, it is hardly surprising that the spin would come. The need to explain and justify why the Indonesian President pulled the plug on a state visit to The Netherlands just minutes before a scheduled departure from Halim Perdanakusuma airport in East Jakarta was paramount in trying to salvage some respect for the president.

It is not surprising either that the old ways have come to the fore again; make this an issue of national pride and paint the other side as unethical and morally corrupt. Paranoia?

It would seem that the president's biggest beef about what transpired is that any decision by a Dutch court to hear any case against him is a breach of the bilateral relationship. Mr. President, are you serious? Maybe, you need to get some new advisors on what constitutes a breach of the bilateral relationship. While you are at it, sir, you should get some new legal advisors (preferably at least one with some significant current international legal experience). Then, you might reconsider who you have on the ground in Holland doing the diplomatic bilateral leg work for these visits.

The cancellation of the State visit does not have anything to do with national pride. It has to do with petty ego and the knee-jerk reactions of a president who is more often than not indecisive on all things of importance and more prone to acts of petulance than decisive leadership. The thing that most dented national pride here was the decision to play scared of the RMS petition and presume that the Dutch courts would entertain the petition.

The funniest part of the spin put on this by SBY is the claim that the Dutch courts were in some way unethical in agreeing to look at the petition on the day of his proposed visit. If one is speaking of unethical courts and a legal system in need of significant reform, then he probably has a point. The president should in fact stay at home and fix the problems in his own backyard. After all, the president now seems to be all about sending the "right" messages. So, Mr. President, start sending those right messages.

But even funnier still is that he has set himself a precedent that all but ensures that any individual or group that feels the need to force the president's hand need only lodge a petition in a court of law. The president, in order to maintain consistency, would be left with no choice but to jump up and down claiming unethical breaches of bilateral relations and cancel his trip.

I wonder if the Free Papua Movement in Australia has considered this option? The next time there is even distant chatter that the president might be planning a trip to Australia the FPM should start planning a petition and lodge it about 48 hours before the State visit is scheduled to start.

Ultimately, Mr. President, human rights violations are serious breaches of international law. Sir, there are ethical considerations, moral considerations, in fact, there are human considerations to be had here. The reality Mr. President is that the Dutch courts function pretty well in comparison to your own. Let's face it, the chances of you being arrested and prosecuted for crimes against humanity, including torture, are pretty remote if you have not committed any crimes. To be sure, this would be true for any crime.

But, let's look a little closer to home - a case with no merit can go all the way to the Supreme Court and be reinstated despite public knowledge that the whole case is a fabrication designed to undermine the anti-corruption agency (KPK).

Hold on a minute, Mr. President, wasn't your election platform centered on anti-corruption and the desire to clean up government? Then how does one in your position sit idly by why corrupt powerful interests seek to dismantle the one institution that is likely to drive your post-presidential legacy? Now, what sort of message are you sending Sir?

Ho hum...

Schapelle Corby -- Insane...

Schapelle Corby has been diagnosed as "clinically insane." The diagnosis was made by Dr. Jonathon Phillips, the former president of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists. Dr. Phillips visited Corby in her Bali prison recently to assess her mental state. The assessment was paid for by the New Idea magazine. New Idea claim that they funded the assessment after receiving huge numbers of requests about Corby.

According to Dr. Phillips, Corby is both delusional and paranoid. In lay person's terms she is no longer capable of caring for herself. She is apparently laboring in a world of fantasy and hallucinations, and subject to a mind dominated by some truly bizarre ideas.

Corby's state of mind has deteriorated so much that she has tried to commit suicide, at least, twice. The attempts allegedly involve Corby cutting herself pretty severely. This has lead Dr. Phillips to state that if Corby is faking her illness, then she is a master actor.

The Corby family has sent the results of the evaluation to the Australian Prime Minister and seem set to lobby hard to have Australia make an approach to their Indonesian counterparts with a view to having Corby transferred to a secure facility in Australia. As far as I recall the prisoner transfer agreement between Australia and Indonesia has stalled on a few key points. So, it would seem unlikely that this is going to be a prisoner exchange deal, at least not through a prisoner exchange treaty.

It seems that any claim would be more likely to succeed on compassionate grounds. Simply, make this a humanitarian issue by making an appeal to the humanity of Indonesians. I am not sure that this is a win / win situation. And, even if Indonesia was inclined to release Corby on compassionate grounds, they would be certain to insist on some strict conditions. I would hazard a guess that these would include provisions that would not see Corby immediately released on her return to Australia.

The saga continues.

Postscript...

I have been lead to an article published in The Australian on 29 August 2009.

In essence the article says that Schapelle's psychiatrist in Bali, Dr. Denny Thong, in essence agrees with Dr. Jonathon Phillips that Schapelle has a mental illness. However, according to Dr. Thong, the mental illness is not insanity but depression and bouts of audio and visual hallucinations. Dr. Thong believes that Schapelle can be treated, and is being treated, but he is unsure as to whether Schapelle is taking her medication.

Dr. Thong does not believe this to be a life and death situation. To the contrary, the Dr. recommends that Schapelle be moved to the Bangli Mental Hospital where she can be treated, and then when well enough she can be returned to prison to complete her sentence.

This is the link to the article.

Schapelle Corby and Depression...

It has been a while since I found time to update on the Schapelle Corby (photo) saga. It is a saga because the media keeps it in the news and people, like me, are still reading about the comings and goings of an Australian languishing in an Indonesian prison.

Corby is coming up to her fourth year in prison. However, it seems pretty clear that prison is taking its toll on her physically and emotionally and mentally. Corby now has a history of depression. She was hospitalized for it last year and has recently been hospitalized again. It is sad in many ways because if she had committed the same crime in Australia she probably would have received a much shorter prison term. Maybe she might not have been jailed at all.

The rumours are that she is struggling and that she is not taking her medication. This only exacerbates the problems she is suffering from. The results are apparently difficulty in sleeping and generally not looking after herself. Apparently, she is also having real difficulty in communicating with others and there is a general inability to answer questions or stay focused for any length of time. It has been reported that she is taking comfort in a doll.

A hospital stay is just what the doctor ordered. However, it is clearly a case that Corby would be better served with a long-term treatment regime in a psychiatric facility where she can be properly monitored and treated. This, though, seems unlikely. Unfortunately, if the authorities do not come to the party and allow Corby to get specialized and proper treatment then this is going to become a vicious circle of periodic hospital treatments for depression.

That said, prison time has never been designed as a holiday. It is tough and as such people handle it in different ways and some people do not handle it well.

On the legal front, Corby has hired a new lawyer. The lawyer, Iskandar Nawing, has been given a mandate of getting Corby out of jail. Nawing has admitted that there is no new evidence in the case so there is no likelihood that the case will be reopened. On this front it would seem that the 16 years that remain, minus any remissions, will be served.

However, Corby has until now rejected all overtures with respect to seeking clemency from the Indonesian president. A clemency request requires Corby to admit guilt. It would be an interesting call to admit guilt at this stage. It seems very unlikely that the president would be receptive to the idea of granting clemency and releasing Corby. Even if one assumes that the incumbent is re-elected it still seems highly unlikely that he would look favourably on a clemency request.

Indonesia has always taken a hard stance on drugs and drug smuggling. To grant Corby clemency after four years of a twenty year sentence just does not seem likely. Nevertheless, the ongoing serious depression she is suffering, the paranoia, and a psychological report that states she is a danger to herself might be a tick in the column for clemency.

When it is all said and done I think there are more ticks in the rejection of clemency column than there are in the clemency column.

Schapelle Corby -- Suicide Watch

The ongoing Schapelle Corby saga has taken a much more serious and sad turn with Corby being hospitalized for depression and rapid weight loss. Prison is a stressful place I am sure but it would seem that Corby has lost the will to fight after the rejection of her latest appeal. It is easy to say, "if you do the crime, you have to do the time", but if you genuinely believe in your innocence then doing the time must seem very unfair.

The weight loss in itself does not seem to be overly serious provided it does not continue. Having lost 12 kilos in the space of a month when not dieting is a concern but aside from being a little skinny at 5'2" and 45 kilos the weight would not seem to be a physical problem yet.

However, what is probably more of a concern to her family and medical staff are reports of hallucinations and paranoia. Doctors are reporting she is not taking any drugs and the hallucinations and paranoia are the result of emotional responses and not physical ones. What is interesting to me is that Corby was prescribed anti-depressants two weeks ago but by all accounts the hallucinations and paranoia are worsening. Not only worsening but worsening to a point where she is considered a danger to herself and others. She is now on a purportedly 24-hour a day suicide watch.

A psychiatrist, Lely Setyawati, has been brought in to assist with Corby's treatment and has since recommended that Corby be hospitalized indefinitely. Indefinite hospitalization indicates that the problems that Corby has are a little more serious than just having a bad day.

All of these developments are occurring simultaneously with the airing on Channel 9 tonight of a documentary on the Corby case, Schapelle Corby: The Hidden Truth, which is supposedly going to explode the myths surrounding the case. Considering all the exposure that the case has had in the past it seems a bit of a reach to suggest that there are still lingering issues that have not been examined at some point previously.

With a bit of luck the documentary might get a screening here in Jakarta so that Channel 9 can challenge me and explode the myths surrounding the case (photo by Jason Childs / SMH).