I CANNOT tolerate watching Australia demand special treatment for its citizens when they break serious criminal laws in other countries ("Respect Indonesia's legal sovereignty, says Jokowi"; yesterday).
Anyone who flies into Singapore, Malaysia or Indonesia is clearly warned on the immigration form that drug trafficking carries the death penalty in these countries.
Unlike the majority of their law-abiding countrymen, the executed Australians broke serious Indonesian laws within Indonesia itself and were fully aware of the legal consequences ("Indonesia executes 8 drug traffickers"; Wednesday).
Demanding that one's laws and standards be applied to foreign countries is imperialistic behaviour at its worst.
Therefore, instead of making petulant demands that other countries bend their laws to accommodate foreign criminals, Australia's government should respect the sovereignty of its Asian neighbours.
Eric J. Brooks
