With few good beaches in Java, many thousands of Indonesians head to Bali, not to mention millions of other Asians and Australians. I stopped by a couple of years ago. It’s an unforgettable island, with sights like the vertiginous Uluwatu Temple (pictured, along with its spectacle-stealing monkeys), the Jatiluwih rice terraces, and the famous surfing beaches of Padang Padang and Dreamland.
With few good beaches in Java, many thousands of Indonesians head to Bali, not to mention millions of other Asians and Australians. I stopped by a couple of years ago. It’s an unforgettable island, with sights like the vertiginous Uluwatu Temple (pictured, along with its spectacle-stealing monkeys), the Jatiluwih rice terraces, and the famous surfing beaches of Padang Padang and Dreamland.
But this week sees the announcment of another death penalty on the island. This time. a grandmother aged 56 – called Lindsay Sandiford – was sentenced to death by firing squad for smuggling 4.8kg of cocaine. No one doubts Bali’s need to impose strict drugs laws but this case throws up the iniquity of killing people in the name of justice; Sandiford has mental health issues; those who controlled her got away with it (or got sentences of 1-2 years). Bali says it maintains the death penalty to preserve its image as an island paradise. But is that the image it leaves with you?
