LAKSAMANA.Net, September 15, 2004 08:55 PM
Government Reviewing Bali Bomber's Book
Laksamana.Net - The government is yet to decide whether to ban death row terrorist
Imam Samudra's autobiography, in which he attempts to justify the October 2002 Bali
nightclub bombings that killed 202 people.
Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Hari Sabarno said Wednesday
(15/9/04) the government would make a decision once the Attorney General's Office
has finished reviewing the book.
"In this democratic era, the freedom of expression should be maintained so that it will
not be carried out beyond the principle. It is necessary to study the book and find out
how far it would affect the people, as the book was written by a terrorist," he was
quoted as saying by state news agency Antara.
Samudra (34) started writing the 280-page book, Aku Melawan Teroris (Me, Fighting
the Terrorists), five days after his arrest in November 2002. He was sentenced to
death in September 2003 for organizing the bombings that shattered Bali's nightlife
hub.
No date has been set for his execution and he has filed an appeal against his death
sentence.
Distributed by the Jazeera publishing company, the controversial autobiography is
now on sale at various bookstores in Java for Rp37,000 ($4).
Publisher Bambang Sukirno has been quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying
Samudra's royalties will go to an undisclosed charity. The Associated Press has
quoted one of the militant's lawyers as saying the profits will be divided between
Samudra's family, his legal defense team and unnamed charities.
The book tells the story of Samudra's life from his childhood to becoming a
20-year-old militant training at an al Qaeda camp in Afghanistan and fighting against
the Soviets, to his role in the Bali attacks, which have been blamed on regional
terrorism network Jemaah Islamiyah.
Samudra, who has shown no remorse over the bombings, maintains that he is a true
defender of Islam, whereas the real terrorists are the US and its allies.
In the book, he writes that Bali was selected as a target because it was a place
where American terrorists and their arrogant and proud colonialist allies gathered.
He expresses slight regret over the fact that some Muslims were killed in the
bombings, but has no pity for the Western tourists who made up the majority of the
fatalities.
Samudra denies that any innocent Western civilians were killed in the blast, writing
that it's a well known fact that the US, Australia and Singapore give their civilians
military training.
He writes that his time spent with al Qaeda in Afghanistan was one of the happiest
periods of his life, as the only sounds there were gunfire and al-Qur'an recitals, without
any "satanic calls" – a reference to female voices and music.
Samudra's lawyer Ahmad Taufik is hoping the book will be a bestseller. "It will surely
sell well. The language is both beautiful and poetic. After all, he is the most
intellectual of all the bombers," the lawyer was quoted as saying by AP.
Part of that "beautiful" language contains an account of how Samudra met his wife.
There's also a chapter dedicated to his area of expertise, computer sciences. The title
of the chapter is 'Hacking: Why Not?'
Another Jemaah Islamiyah member on death row for involvement in the bombings, Ali
Ghufron, has already written four books, including a justification of the attacks and a
guide for Muslim wives. He is yet to find a publisher.
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