nomad4ever

Today is the 5th anniversary of the Bali Bombing in 2002, where 202 people got killed. It was a sneaky attack, with a suicide bomber storming into the Paddy’s Club in Kuta, setting off his TNT-filled vest, devastating the Club. The survivors who made it to the outside weren’t better off:

Outside was a parked Van, filled with TNT and other explosives (fertilizer), which detonated just a short time after the first bomb. 164 foreigners and 38 Indonesians, who were in Paddy’s Club, the opposite Sari Club, or were simply walking along the road – were either killed instantly or died from injuries, received during those deadly blasts, still days and weeks later.

The members of Jemaah Islamiyah, an extremist organization, who got convicted later in controversial trials, were either sentenced to death or to life in prison. All except Mr Abu Bakar Bashir, the alleged Leader of Jemaah Islamiyah in Indonesia, who got sentenced to 2 and 1/2 years in prison, but is a free man again since June 2006.

Justice served?

Just having watched the Bali Bombing Special on Discovery Channel, I decided to look for some more information on the net.

What did I find?

With the 5th anniversary of the Bali Bombing of 2002 just a day away, Indonesia’s Anti-Terror Unit Chief invited yesterday the Bali Bombers, as well as other Extreme Muslim Hardliners and former Terrorists to his house, hosting a Barbecue Event.

“We approach the terrorists with a pure heart,” Brigadier General Surya Dharma, the head of Indonesia’s anti-terror unit and host of the party, told Associated Press.

“We are all Muslims. We make them our brothers, not our enemy.”

One of the masterminds behind the Bali Bombings – Mubarok – who is serving a life sentence for planning and carrying out the Bali bombings, was temporarily released from prison to attend the party, which was free of armed guards. He led the prayers at the celebration, timed to coincide with the breaking of the fast during the holy month of Ramadan. Prisoners such as Mubarok who cooperate with Indonesian authorities look forward to shorter sentences and financial rewards.

Ali Imron, another former militant serving life for the Bali bombings, said an unnamed cleric had issued an edict calling for his death because of his close links with police.

“Everything has a risk, but I have chosen my path,” he told Associated Press. “I am doing what is right.”

What do you think? Is this ‘soft’ approach of Indonesia’s Police to Terrorists right or wrong? People sit 10 years in jail here for drug offences, which would be ‘minor offences’ in the western world; but Terrorists enjoy preferential treatment. I don’t talk about Shapelle Corby here; but people who got caught, carrying one single joint or 1 or 2 pills with them – definitely no dealers.

While drugs surely destroy a lot of peoples lifes and families, this is even more true for crimes done by Terrorists, isn’t it?

Terrorist crimes like these had huge exposure in the media and the eye of the public, they tarnished Bali’s reputation as an island of peace and tranquility and Bali still suffers up to now from it. Myself, I don’t know what to make out of it – can’t really understand the insensitive handling of this matter.

Please read the whole story here and comment: what do you think about it?

BBQ for Terrorists?

Technorati : abu bakar, ali imron, bali bomb, bashir, fertilizer, jemaah islamiyah, mubarok, paddy’s club, sari club, surya dharma, terrorist, tnt

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written by Chris