irony, idiots and terrorists

At 9 p.m. on Friday, the Bali bombers were given 72 hours notice of their execution, ending months of speculation as to when they would face the firing squad.

The Bali bombers have been a thorn in the side of the Indonesian Government for many reasons, not only the rather dramatic annihilation of 202 partying bules and the Indonesians serving them. Their lawyers have tested the patience of the Attorney-General. They have tried everything from accusations of corruption, to challenging the law under which the bombers were charged and convicted. When that didn’t work, they took the unprecedented step of challenging the means of execution - death by firing squad - as unconstitutional. They’re not finished yet: this week they threatened to take the Government to the International Court of Justice.

Amrozi & Co have also been a PR nightmare for the Government. First there was the embarrassing discovery that Samudra had a laptop in his cell, his own website and had published a book, Me Against the Terrorists, from his cell. Then came the interviews. In the past month, there have been at least six interviews televised by local networks, CNN, Al Jazeera and the BBC. Finally, new letters by the bombers found their way to the Internet this week, calling for a jihad against those responsible for their executions.

Idiot politicians (other than Sarah Palin)

As if on cue, the United States, Australian and New Zealand foreign missions all snapped to attention, issuing travel advisories warning against unnecessary travel to Indonesia. The New Zealand embassy used the opportunity to remind us of the perils of travelling to Maluku (”extreme risk”), Sulawesi (”extreme risk”), Aceh, Papua and Kalimantan (all “high risk”), despite the fact that there has been no violence - or threat of violence - against foreigners there. In fairness, the Kiwis tend to “copy/paste” their advisories from the Australian Government’s website.

Australian Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, decided the situation warranted addressing the Australian public:

We’re taking all the precautions we can, but we do urge Australians to reconsider their need to travel to Bali and Indonesia at this time.

The Minister is obviously one of the 45% of Australians who don’t yet realise that Bali is actually in Indonesia, and not “just up from Cairns”.

I’m not sure exactly what “precautions” his government is taking, other than re-enforcing the Australian public’s deeply-rooted prejudices against Indonesia and Islam generally. I don’t think he knows either. His advice on Saturday was to avoid areas that have been targeted by terrorists in the past. Um, the Marriott Hotel, the Australian Embassy and central Kuta, Bali - all former targets - are probably now the safest places in Indonesia!

The fact is that retalitory attacks are extremely unlikely. The Indonesian Police have prepared for low-level unrest when the bombers’ bodies are returned to their villages for burial in East Java. Yet, neither the Australian nor the New Zealand travel warnings mention East Java.

Morally bankrupt media

The press - particularly the foreign press - have played a nasty, nasty role in this sorry affair. The Sydney Morning Herald leads the charge with no fewer than 22 articles - six of them “breaking news” - in the past 48 hours - despite the fact that nothing has happened all weekend.

Not finding any news to report, the Herald decided to write about media coverage. Without an ounce of irony, the Herald announced that the Bali bombers had been given too much media access, resulting in an “orgy of Bali bomber stories”, with the Indonesian Government as the key protagonist:

The Indonesian state has been the facilitator of this orgy of Bali bomber stories.

— Tom Allard, “The Making of Martyrs”, 1 November 2008

According to the Herald, the Indonesian “state” has deliberately given the Bali bombers a platform to campaign their cause, by giving them access to the media. Obviously, this accusation is deeply flawed, by making the (mind-boggling) assumption that the Government can legally deny the press access. It also forgets the fact that the press have shown no restraint or responsibility in the way they have portrayed the Bali bombers and their cause:

A lot of the coverage fails to remind people of what the bombers have done that led them to prison life and facing the death sentence,” says Hendardi, chairman of the religious tolerance-promoting Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace in Indonesia. “I don’t know if it’s been done deliberately or not, but this kind of coverage gives them an opportunity to campaign.”

Islamaphobia and the cult of fear

The Herald doesn’t offer motive or explain why the Indonesian Government might want to promote the Bali bombers’ cause. Of course not; that’s called responsible journalism. Instead, the Herald leads us down the well-trodden propaganda path, reminding its readers that Islamic terrorists may be thin on the ground, but “perhaps they are biding their time”:

…even a fringe group can be formidable if it can mobilise its members. And a noisy minority can have a disproportionate influence in a country still building democratic institutions and identity, and where much of the population is poorly educated.

Journalism at its finest. Goebbels would be proud.