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| Southeast Asia |
| Review - Politics: Bali Trials End |
| 2004-03-07 |
| I think Indonesia took the problem seriously when it came home to roost . . . After 11 months, the trials of suspects in the Bali terror attack on October 12, 2002, which killed 202 people and injured hundreds of others, finally came to an end last week. ... Though two suspects, Dulmatin and Malaysian national Azahari are still on the run, the courts have tried no less than thirty suspects for their involvement. Three of these, Ali Ghufron alias Mukhlas, Amrozi bin Nurhasim and Imam Samudra were sentenced to death by firing squad. Those on death row in Indonesia have a much shorter life expectancy than those in the U.S. The rest were jailed for terms ranging from three years to life. Even minor involvement (e.g., hiding a fugitive) was met with prison terms. 11 of those convicted appealed to the Supreme Court after the Bali High Court rejected their appeals. |
| Posted by:cingold |
| #4 .com, now I'm blushing . . . Truly, I hope I'm right too. The mainstream Indonesian ideal of politics is "Unity in Diversity." If islamofascism is not rooted out of Indonesia, it will be because islamofascists have taken over the country (extremely unlikely) or because of corruption (a possibility). |
| Posted by: cingold 2004-3-7 8:33:47 PM |
| #3 I absolutely hope you're right! I'm not sure where your optimism comes from, but I'll defer to your experience. Having Indonesia truly onboard in the WoT would be nearly priceless... and it would help immensely to counterbalance the Malaysian Gov't's (term used rather loosely, here) obvious complicity in the region. I have zero personal experience there, so must rely upon "news" outlets and people who have bona-fide knowledge of the people and culture, such as yourself. Thx for the feedback and perspective - it is sorely needed! |
| Posted by: .com 2004-3-7 7:19:19 PM |
| #2 .com, I admit, I am biased toward Indonesia. I spent a good portion of my childhood there and love the people. I do concede, however, that Indonesian leadership (in the name of country cohesion) can be paranoid and at times abusive, and is quite prone to sickening and self-serving corruption. Nonetheless, I think Indonesia on the whole is on the right track, and will end up doing the right things about its self-governance and in dealing with the islamofascists. Regarding Bashir; the story isn’t over with, yet -- there are a lot more charges to file against him, and I don’t see him being released from prison before real, hard-hitting charges are filed. The well supported charges against Bahir were fairly minor, but the heavier charges did not have well-developed evidence [see link] (just something to get him off the streets, I think). I could be wrong, but I don’t think so. I think while Bashir is in jail for the little stuff, more significant charges will be brought. We'll see . . . and I hope I'm right. |
| Posted by: cingold 2004-3-7 6:53:42 PM |
| #1 Sorry, cingold, but you're being rather selective about the truth, aren't you? Bashir, who alternately threatened the court and cried like a baby -- after faking illness to keep from being arrested, certainly didn't face the music... I wonder how life is in the Indo-equivalent of Club Fed. The cannon-fodder, those wearing the the True Believer's Smile, got death. The leadership got a pass. When Indo DOES go after JI & Co leadership, I'll be there to congratulate them. Until then, I hope we are extremely slow to share intel and access to captured asshats. Where I'm wrong - I'm glad. Please tell me I'm wrong! |
| Posted by: .com 2004-3-7 5:35:52 PM |