TR EMERITUS

An Australian court on Friday ruled that a quadriplegic man who has begged to be allowed to die has the right to order his carers to starve him to death. In a landmark judgement, Western Australia's chief judge Wayne Martin said the Brightwater Care Group would not be criminally responsible if it stopped feeding and hydrating severely paralysed Christian Rossiter, 49. Martin said Rossiter had the right to direct his own treatment, and that food and water "should not be administered against his wishes". "It's not about euthanasia," said Martin. "Nor is it about the right to life." The ruling sets a legal precedent in Australia, where helping someone take their own life is a crime punishable by life in prison in some states. "It's comforting to know that when you say you're going to starve yourself to death no-one's going to come along in the night when you've lost consciousness and keep you alive to suffer a bit longer," said Rossiter. The judge found Rossiter was not terminally ill or dying and had the mental capacity to make an informed decision about stopping his treatment. Martin ordered that medical staff fully explain to Rossiter the consequences of ceasing nutrition and hydration through a tube into his stomach, and said carers "may not lawfully continue" nourishing him once that had occurred . "I think he has now opened up the door for people who do want to die by starvation," said Rossiter's lawyer John Hammond. "It sets a precedent whereby people can easily refuse medical treatment." In a statement read to the court Friday, the former stockbroker and outdoor adventurer said he was unable to undertake the most basic of human functions. "I am unable to blow my nose," Rossiter said. "I am unable to wipe the tears from my eyes." He made a public plea last week to be allowed to end his suffering, which he described as a "living hell". "I'm Christian Rossiter and I'd like to die. I am a prisoner in my own body. I can't move," he told reporters. "I have no fear of death -- just pain. I only fear pain." Brightwater, the group that runs the nursing home where Rossiter lives, sought the court ruling on whether ceasing to feed him would place it in breach of its duty of care, and said it held no position on his wish to die. Palliative care experts said it would take between one and two weeks for Rossiter to die once nutrients were withdrawn, but he wouldn't suffer. "There is not a lot of pain involved, or a lot of distress involved," doctor Scott Blackwell said. "He will ultimately sink into a coma and he will die." Renowned euthanasia advocate Philip Nitschke, called the decision "very important" and "such a victory for common sense." "The idea that they would have come back with some direction that his wishes would not be complied with is just too awful to think about," Nitschke said. Nitschke, head of euthanasia group Exit International, said Rossiter would be able to ask his carers to stop feeding him whenever he wanted and could also revoke it any time. He also said Rossiter was considering ending his life in Switzerland, where assisted suicide is legal. Rossiter developed spastic quadriplegia after separate accidents in which he fell 30 metres (100 feet) from a building and was then hit by a car whilst riding his bicycle. Australia sparked international controversy in 1995 when the Northern Territory's provincial government legalised euthanasia. Nitschke helped four people to die in the nine months before the national government intervened to overturn the law in 1996, earning the tabloid nickname "Doctor Death." Source: AFP  Read More →

Thailand said on Friday it was asking neighboring Asian states to support a request to Myanmar's junta to pardon opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, back under house arrest after a court conviction this week. A Myanmar court sentenced the 64-year-old Nobel peace laureate to three years in detention on Tuesday for violating an internal security law, a sentence then halved by the military government. The sentence drew condemnation abroad, although criticism from most of Myanmar's fellow members of the 10-country Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) was muted. "I already sent a letter to ASEAN members, but we need a consensus," Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya told reporters by telephone after talks in Malaysia with his ministerial counterpart. Along with Thailand and Myanmar, ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam. Thailand currently chairs ASEAN. The U.N. Security Council voiced "serious concern" about the sentence in a statement watered down to meet misgivings from Russia and from China, which has reasonably friendly ties with Myanmar's military leaders. The charges against Suu Kyi stemmed from U.S. intruder John Yettaw's two-day uninvited stay at her home in May, which the court ruled was in breach of the terms of her house arrest. Source: Reuters  Read More →

From our Correspondent In a speech at a National Day dinner in Tanjong Pagar, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew stressed the need for Singapore to continue to import foreigners to pop up the economy. (read article here) Without educated foreign residents, Singapore faces the threat of a declining economy with a shrinking labour force, he said in a speech stressing the importance of accepting and embracing them. Immigrants make up for the children Singaporeans are not having, he said. Singapore has about 1.68 million foreigners. 70 per cent are here temporarily, holding renewable passes, mainly the employment pass, S-pass for semi-skilled workers or work permits for the low-skilled. The rest are permanent residents, or PRs. The large pool has led to growing discontent among Singaporeans who complained about jobs being taken away by the new citizens and PRs. Statistics published by the Ministry of Manpower lump citizens and PRs together as "residents". Reform Party Secretary-General Kenneth Jeyaretnam spoke in his National Day addrerss that he would "prevent companies bringing in foreign workers to undercut the pay and conditions of the existing Singaporean workforce particularly when it is impossible to outsource the work involved." if his party is elected into power one day. Singapore has one of the most liberal labor laws in the world. With no minimum wage and retrenchment benefits, the average Singapore worker faces the threat of being squeezed out by cheaper foreign workers from other countries. The government's pro-foreigner policy is reflected in its eagerness to woo them to take up Singapore citizenship. Parties and events are organized at the grassroots level to make the foreigners 'feel at home.' Ministers and MPs often praise new citizens for being "appreciative" while lambasting locals for "complaining" too easily and frequently. Conspiracy theories were floated that new citizens are used to shore up flagging support for the ruling party as they often vote for the government who granted them citizenship in the first place. Despite MM Lee's reassurances that the interests of Singapore citizens will be "protected", an undercurrent of discontent remains in the populace.  Read More →