Indonesian fishermen from East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) province called on Wednesday for equal legal treatment from the Australian government following President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s recent decision to grant clemency to Australian drug convict Schapelle Corby.
NTT fishermen’s coordinator, Muhamad Ridwan, was quoted by Antara as saying that Indonesia’s decision to cut Corby’s sentence should trigger the Australian government to treat the archipelago’s fishermen better.
We are hoping that the Australian government will provide similar compensation in the form of clemency or even amnesty to hundreds of Indonesian fishermen who have been arrested and jailed on charges of trespassing [in Australian waters], he said late on Wednesday.
Ridwan claimed that, in contrast with Indonesia’s treatment of Corby, Australian coast guards had destroyed the boats belonging to Indonesian fishermen who had been caught in the country’s waters.
He added that the law enforcers also tortured the fishermen before they were tried and imprisoned in the neighboring country.
Ridwan, who himself was once arrested by Australian coast guards along with two colleagues, insisted that the treatment from the law enforcers was unfair.
We were caught by Australian law enforcers in 2008 and they burned our boats. Although they were accusing us of trespassing, our boats’ equipment showed that we were still in Indonesian waters,” he said.
Since 2002, Indonesian fishermen have lost more 50 boats, worth more than Rp 800 million [US$84,800], he noted.
Yudhoyono signed Corby’s clemency on May 15, which will cut five years from her 20-year imprisonment for smuggling 4.1 kilograms of marijuana from Australia into Bali in 2004.
PT. Bina Media Tenggara © 2012