Double Standards in Immunity Policies

Big and small countries have less in common than just the differences in the size of their territory. Take the United States for example, a superpower no one dares to offend. If a foreigner with diplomatic immunity commits a crime on American soil, he must obey and be subjected to the laws of that land.

As a general rule of thumb though, legal cases involving foreign ambassadors seem to go through the motions, yet end up dodging any forms of prosecution.

But when one takes into account the statures of countries within the diplomatic arena, that rule gets heavily skewed. Take cases of car accidents involving foreign diplomats:

In 1997, a deputy ambassador from Georgia was driving under the influence in the United States. He killed one person and injured four others. The U.S government succeeded in waiving his diplomatic immunity and convicted him.

On the other hand, if an American with diplomatic immunity had committed a crime overseas, they would not be subject to local laws. In 2004, a U.S. Navy serviceman in Rome also drove while intoxicated, resulting in the unfortunate death of a civilian, but the U.S. did not agree to waive his diplomatic immunity. The case is gathering dust.

More recently, the same scenario happened in our country [Singapore], when a Romanian diplomat was involved in a tragic car accident that killed one and injured two others. The diplomat had already returned home when our government demanded that his diplomatic immunity be suspended, and thus far, not a word from his employer, even after our government filed charges against him. It seems Romania is sitting comfortably on the file, hoping it will soon be forgotten.

In these two cases, the large and small nation differences are apparent.

After the accident involving the Georgian deputy ambassador, the U.S. pressured the Georgian government and was successful in pushing for the diplomat to stand trial. Our country demanded that those involved in the Romanian diplomat’s case return to Singapore to face public charges, but so far no one is paying attention. The opposition may think that our country is not capable and that we have no alternative but to accept the harsh realities of being a small country.

If those people who caused the accident in Singapore, which left one dead and two others injured, are not brought to justice and retain their diplomatic immunity, they escape legal action. Do international human rights organizations not have a stance?

For the family members of the victim in the unfortunate car accident in Rome, we express our deep concern and believe that a fair trial and justice will eventually come. Although [Singapore] is small, the mentality of its people and government is not weak. We also firmly believe that the law of the natural world, where the weak become fodder for the strong, belongs to the animal kingdom. We are not animals, and even though our country is small, if we reason well there will be no need to fear that justice will not be upheld.

Citizens must take a position against the government, akin to Zhang Yimou’s The Story of Qiu Ju, and must unceasingly investigate the legal liability of the Romanians who caused the accident. Maybe it will take one year, 10 years or even centuries, but we must not give up.

The Ministry of Education might as well consider adding this lesson to the national teaching materials. They must teach future generations to always strive for self-improvement and to never be afraid of the truth.