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INDONESIA’S PARLIAMENT HAS passed controversial laws allowing for chemical castration and execution in the cases of convicted paedophiles.
The controversial laws were the subject of fierce debate, with two opposition parties voting against the measures, The BBC reports.
They were proposed by president Joko Widodo in May following a horrific case in which a 14-year-old was murdered and gang-raped by a group of men and boys in as she made her way back from school.
The case shocked and angered the nation, prompting the president to introduce the tough new measures.
Chemical castration involves injecting convicts with female hormones. It is currently used in Poland, Russia and some states in the US, among others.
The laws have been met with huge criticism. The Indonesian Doctors Association said its members should not take part in castrations as it would violate professional ethics.
The case
Following the discovery of the teenager’s body tied up and naked in the woods, police arrested 13 people over the attack while one alleged perpetrator is still at large.
The murder and attack shocked the country and sparked a national debate about a failure to tackle endemic sexual violence.
Zainal, a 23-year-old who like many Indonesians goes by one name, was sentenced to death last month for premeditated murder, which was a crime already punishable by death before the new laws were introduced.
The mother of the victim shouted in protest after the verdicts were handed down, demanding all the defendants be sentenced to death.
The attack captured national attention when reports of the incident went viral on social media, prompting tens of thousands to sign online petitions and sparking protests in the capital Jakarta.
It has drawn comparisons with the fatal gang-rape of a student on a bus in Delhi in 2012, which sparked mass protests and led to an overhaul of India’s rape laws.
With reporting from AFP
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Spot on, our own antivaxxers, antivaxxers and conspiracy theorists are anti Ukraine and will have the same opinion when the warmonger Putin overthrows Moldova,
@Charles Coughlan: your comment is above and beyond dum.
@John Johnes: actually most anti science nutjobs I’ve known, watch RT news every night.
@Donal Desmond: I strongly recommend to watch documentary on Netflix “How become a tyrant” epizode 2 that will give you some idea about SH.
@Charles Coughlan: Geopolitics is not a simplistic team sport, in which you have to pick a side and blindly support them no matter what, while waving their colours to identify yourself to others as a loyal supporter.
The invasion of Ukraine is an illegal act of aggression by Putin and targeting civilians is reprehensible, but its not as simple as starting the clock from the invasion and chanting Russia bad, NATO good, its a lot more complex and long running situation that has brought us to this point, acknowledging the documented reality that nuance and bigger picture exists, is neither supporting Putin, anti Ukraine, or a conspiracy theory.
Accepting or embracing a simplistic reductive black and white narrative from any side of this situation is frankly just intellectual laziness.
@Donal Desmond: Yeah sure you know best . Go back to watching Rossiya Segodnya.
@Donal Desmond: Of course we remember. I wonder do you remember the reaction to that? The protests in nearly every major city in the world, the countries that point blank refused to support it, the embargos on French produce in the US because France wouldn’t roll in with them. Most people condemned it at the time and most still do. In the same way most people condemn this war now. It’s not an either/or situation and your whataboutry is both banal and pointless.
@artur fil: Same as watching our national broadcaster RTE. Certainly do not know best, but our own media is not shy in the propaganda game.
@Francis Devenney: I don’t remembered it exactly like that. People were against the war while we all thought it was a plot to start a war due to the terrorist attack on the twin towers and USA interests. That was until the the lies/mistake on MDW was confirmed and heavenly published by the media. Shortly after the war broke and the protest then become a small minority. With time they become nothing and after the terrorist attack in Madrid on 2004 and then in London in 2005 the protests were all forgotten and anything related to wars in the middle east was accepted by the public without questions, including the “mistake” made in Iraq.
@Francis Devenney: Whatabourty is pointless? A bit like denying the past. Most conflicts that take place relates to what happened in the past..History repeats itself. The invasion of Ukraine was wrong, but the hypocrisy of our politicians and media is comical.
@Donal Desmond: When someone says “this is bad” and someone else says “Yeah, well this other thing is bad too” what is the point of that? It doesn’t contribute at all. It is literally pointless. And as everyone knows the other thing was bad, it is the very definition of banal to make such a statement in the first place
@John Johnes: no it is not , some of them are outside the embassy purporting to be “journalists”
Watching world leaders making daily phone calls to Putin is getting embarrassing at this stage. All it serves to do is boost his ego and feelings of self importance. Like Hitler before him, once he gets what he wants, there will be a new list of contrived grievances and demands. Once again, world leaders will throw their hands up in shock horror at his duplicity.
@Paul Shepherd: What do you think is the appropriate course of action?
@Paul Shepherd: The West especially the U.S. from Vietnam to Afghanistan have learned a lesson that with all their technology wars are not easily won. Not for a second condoning the invasion of Ukraine, but like 1914 the jingoistic propaganda of all sides seem to be heading in that direction. Only difference thus time is the finger on the button. Talking is better than the alternative.
@Donal Desmond: not much point in talking to a deaf person?
@Paul Shepherd: Suppose when I replied to your comment, didn’t realise I was corresponding with the blinkered..A serious comment from you would be appreciated. Like Joe Duffy you seem to be at a loss when faced with a different viewpoint.
Like the picture. Pinnochio himself
It’s very easy to see it online now. Loads of utterly ridiculous theories and “genuine” “analysis” and understanding of the issue. And while reading through comments on FB pages of Reuters, Euronews and a few others, one can see how they try to divide us on a simple matter of unjustified military invasion and aggression on Ukraine.
How can a country with a population of 146 million people, most of whom don’t have a clue what’s going on, hold the rest of the world to ransom. The rest of the world should be ashamed allowing this to happen. So what if Putin presses the nuclear button he won’t see the next sunrise if he does and by all accounts the world is fkd anyway according to David Attenborough. So stand up for what is right, it’s time to get rid of the worlds dictators and their apologists.
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