LAKSAMANA.Net, July 5, 2004 11:46 PM
Bali Bombers Boycott Election
Laksamana.Net - The majority of the 33 prisoners convicted of involvement in the 12
October 2002 Bali bombings decided to boycott Indonesia's presidential elections,
with bombing mastermind Imam Samudra declaring the elections 'haram' or forbidden
under Islamic law.
The 33 men face sentences ranging from a matter of months to death by firing squad
for their role in perpetrating the bombings on Bali's main tourist thoroughfare that left
over 200 people, mainly foreigners, dead.
The inmates' decision not to cast their ballots in presidential elections on Monday
(1/7/04) was their democratic right, said Tulus Widjajanto, chief warden of the
Kerobokan Jail in Kuta, Bali.
"They said they have the right not to vote. OK, we can't force them," he added.
Widjajanto said 30 of the 33 inmates were actually registered to vote, reported the
detikcom news website.
So-called mastermind of the bombing Imam Samudra had refused to register, as had
Amrozi, the man dubbed the 'smiling terrorist' who drove the explosive-packed van to
the Sari Club, and Ali Gufron - also known as Muklas.
Three of the 30 registered inmates - Ali Imron, Utomo Pamungkas and Achmad
Roichan – are currently at Police Headquarters in Jakarta for questioning and did not
vote at the jail, Widjajanto said.
The remaining 27 men were called to the cast their ballots at 09.45 local time but
instead held an impromptu meeting in a cell, reported detikcom.
After repeated calls to join the other voting prisoners, the group agreed to go to the
polling booths but was angered by the prospect of being observed by journalists at the
prison.
One of the men, Sirojur Munir, said: "We were not given the right to vote at the (April
5) legislative elections and now we are? What's going on here?"
Only Yunus and Muhajir from the group found guilty of harboring the bombers in East
Kalimantan agreed to vote along with other prisoners at the polling station prepared at
the jail.
Imam Samudra was not shy of grabbing journalist's attention and gestured through the
bars of his cell.
Journalists were curious to know why the man behind the bombings had decided to
boycott the election.
"Democracy is haram!" he answered.
"Whoever is the leader, this country will never be right unless it's replaced by the rule
of Islamic law only," he said.
The majority of the 33 men convicted of involvement in the Bali bombings are allegedly
leaders and members of the Jemaah Islamiyah group that allegedly aims to establish
a pan-Islamic state encompassing majority-Muslim regions of Southeast Asia,
including Indonesia, Malaysia, southern Thailand and the southern Philippines.
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