Indonesian Heroes -- Achmad Mochtar...

Indonesia is a wonderful country. Indonesia is a country filled with many wonderful and accomplished people. Indonesia is also a country with a rich history. It is in consideration of this that I post this little news piece discovered on my daily surf through Internet news. The post is in stark contrast to the less than rosy picture I have been painting with the posts about SBY and his ineffectual presidency.

Achmad Mochtar is not necessarily a name that jumps from the page as an easily identifiable Indonesian hero. However, he should be recognised much more widely for his sacrifices for the nation and her people. And, perhaps, this may now begin to happen.

Achmad Mochtar was executed by the Japanese in 1945. His beheading was to perpetuate a cover-up of a failed Japanese experiment that resulted in the deaths of some 900 Indonesian forced laborers. The experiment was the testing of a tetanus vaccine. The wide-scale experiment was performed on the 900 Indonesians to test whether the vaccine was safe before it would be administered to Japanese troops.

Mochtar was one of Indonesia's greatest scientists and was held in such high regard that he became head of the Eijkman Institute of Medical Research. Mochtar and his associates were working on medical research that was also looking at the possibility of creating and administering a tetanus vaccine. However, it is clear that the vaccine that poisoned the Indonesian forced laborers was the Japanese one. This is where the story takes a tragic turn for Mochtar and his staff.

In an attempt to cover-up the incident the Japanese quickly blamed Mochtar and the Eijkman Institute. The Japanese arrested all of the Eijkman staff in October 1944. The staff were tortured and mistreated. However, as quickly as they had been arrested, the staff of the Eijkman were released. Mochtar though continued to be held. Mochtar was subsequently beheaded, his body crushed by a steamroller, and his remains tossed into a communal grave.

Research conducted by a clinical research scientist from Oxford University, Kevin Baird, has found that Mochtar had taken the blame for the failed experiment on the proviso that the Japanese released all of his staff.

Achmad Mochtar deserves to be recognised for his sacrifices.

He was a martyr in the true sense of the word, he was a patriot, and a true Indonesian.

Note:
Maybe the president, the parliament and those in high public office in Indonesia could learn a thing or two from the sacrifices of Achmad Mochtar.

Why Wait for Friday?

I promised to provide an update on the planned executions of the Bali Bombers (photo from Kompas) on Friday unless something interesting came up, and it did.

It seems that the legal team of the three are going to take this thing to the ICJ. I am not entirely convinced that they can as the ICJ is generally a State against State deal.

Achmad Michdan of the legal team has said they are going to send a letter to the "International Court". I am guessing that this is the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

My guess is based on a Kompas Newspaper report (in Indonesian). However, a letter would seem to be wasted on the ICJ. It would make more sense to send a letter to a UN organ that dealt with human rights, such as the Human Rights Council.

It seems that the legal teams complaint is that the Constitutional Court of Indonesia does not take into account that the prescribed method of execution in Islam is beheading. I need to find out some more information on this.

I will check it out later in the morning and add a postscript if, and when, I find out something.

Thanks to Calupict for pointing me in this direction.

Can Comedy Overcome Prejudice and Fanaticism?

The idea of using comedy to make light-hearted entertainment of sensitive issues is not new. Perhaps some would argue that has always been the point of comedy to make fun of the big issues that divide us. Nevertheless, we will soon find out whether a sense of humor and a situational comedy can overcome the prejudices and fanaticism that pervade our communities.

Omar Marzouk, a Danish comedian and a Muslim has put together a sitcom called "The Terror Cell" with a disparate group of characters being the Cell. Marzouk was born and raised in Copenhagen.

The Cell includes Osama, a businessman who finds that terror sells all manner of things such as t-shirts, caps, and pens. This reminds me of a t-shirt that I still see every now and then in Bali and further afield that came out soon after the first Bali Bombings of 12 October 2008, "Fuck Terrorists". No apologies for the language as it expresses a sentiment that many continue to feel and to use "f*&k" to me seems to undermine the intensity of feeling and that sentiment.

The second of the cell is Abdul, a convert whose main goal is to kill as many people as he can with the biggest bombs he can make.

Finally, there is Ali, a Pakistani who entered a competition where the winner was awarded the chance of wreaking revenge on the masses for the publication of the cartoons of Muhammad in Denmark.

Just the thought of such a show making it onto Danish TV is intriguing. Even more so considering the violence that occurred in the aftermath of the Muhammad cartoons being published in Denmark and the violence that was related to Geert Wilders and his film, Fitna.

In a Kenny of South Park fame kind of a way the principle characters die and then reappear in the next episode. Every episode ends with the terrorists blowing themselves and their apartment up. They make the journey to heaven and then Allah sends them back to the real world so that they can learn from their mistakes and do it better the next time around.

The Terror Cell, according to Marzouk, has some similarities with "The Young Ones". Marzouk liked The Young Ones because it was crazy in that they were always blowing each other up. It would seem that Marzouk and I enjoy something similar in our choice of comedy. I really enjoyed The Young Ones when I was younger, I would probably still enjoy it now [mental note to myself -- search the Internet for some Young Ones episodes -- if anyone has links please share], so I am looking forward to getting to watch The Terror Cell.

Marzouk recognizes that the subject matter of his sitcom is probably not going to be essentially viewing for some and in anticipation of the obligatory death threats has placed a poll on his website which allows people to choose one of eight different methods of having him killed. To date beheading is head and shoulders above the others (pun intended).

Amrozi, Samudra, Mukhlas

The public desire to see the sentence handed-down against Amrozi, Samudra, and Mukhlas carried out has not reached fever pitch just yet. But, it is worth noting that the Attorney General, Herman Supandji, is coming under much more regular questioning about when the sentence is likely to be carried out. With a bit of luck this extra pressure will force the government into making sure the process is not being stalled for whatever reason.

The Attorney General is currently hiding behind the bureaucratic excuse that the requisite paperwork has not made its way from the courts, to the jail, and then to the OPP. This is convenient, but the government has been talking itself into a bit of a corner when it has said that it intends to ensure that the verdict is carried out before the start of the fasting month on 1 September.

By my reckoning there is less than 13 days to get the paperwork in order and get the deed done. If the bureaucracy fails to come through before 1 September, then I would imagine that a substantial lobby will form to ensure that the first thing the government does on 3 October after the Eid ul-Fitr is to see these three murderers put to death.

Just so none of you are confused here and try and read some hypocrisy into my rants. I am against the death penalty. My personal belief is that these three should rot in prison for the term of their natural lives. However, the sentence is what it is. If the death penalty is not going to apply, then it applies to none. But, if it is going to apply then it must be carried out in the same manner for all.

Thus endeth the sermon!

Enjoy your week.

Beheading the Bali Bombers

The Bali Bombers; Amrozi, Samudra, and Mukhlas, have instructed their lawyers to lodge an appeal with the Constitutional Court. The basis of this appeal is that execution by firing squad is a cruel and inhumane form of execution. The arguments in support of this rely on the botched execution of Muhammad Tubagus Yusuf Maulana (Usep) on 10 March 2008. Usep was executed by firing squad and did not die for 10 minutes. The question here is whether the firing squad is inhumane or whether those tasked with the duty of executing Usep were just poor shots?

The Constitutional Court decision is likely to be handed-down fairly quickly as the government intends to execute the three before 1 September. The fasting month of Ramadan is scheduled to start on 1 September and it is unlikely that the government would execute them on the first day of Ramadan. So, if the executions do not happen before 1 September then they are likely to be postponed until at least early October.

The team of lawyers representing the three also seem to be basing their arguments on the fact that beheading is permitted in Sharia Law. This is indeed true, however, Indonesian criminal law is not based solely on Islamic or Sharia Law and beheading is not the recognized form of execution for those on death row. Therefore, this argument to all intents and purposes is moot. The lawyers that form the Muslim Defenders Team (Tim Pembela Muslim / TPM) are better off arguing hard on the unconstitutionality of the form of execution rather than the right of Muslims to be executed by beheading. Once again this right is not explicitly recognized in Indonesian law.

Interestingly, if the Constitutional Court is true to form in this respect, even if they were to decide in favour of the application, the decision must only apply from the date of the decision and cannot apply retrospectively. Therefore, because the firing squad was constitutional at the time the sentences were handed-down, then these three can still be executed in this manner. However, going forward the government would be required to put into place an alternative form of execution. This would probably be lethal injection. The former Attorney General, Abdul Rahman Saleh, alluded to such a change before stepping down from the position to take up an Ambassadorial post.

One of the lawyers from the TPM has allegedly suggested that France still permits the beheading of prisoners. However, my understanding is that the French abolished the death penalty in 1981 and I have not heard of it being revived of late as an acceptable form of punishment. I guess I will have to do some more research on this unless one of my readers points me to a source.

The end result is that "dead is dead". Nevertheless, I do not see why these individuals should get any special treatment in comparison to other death row inmates. Their crimes were abhorrent and the punishment, irrespective of whether I agree with it or not, has been handed-down. As soon as the government and the courts entertain regulating punishments on religious beliefs then to ensure fairness then all religions must be able to dictate the forms of punishments that are acceptable. I am not sure that this is the way that Indonesia wants to go.

I have posted on the Bali Bombers before, but once again, the moment of truth is forever getting closer. These three murders will soon be meeting their maker, and my guess is that there will be no 72 virgins waiting for them but with a bit of luck an eternity of pain and suffering similar to that which they inflicted on the victims of their murderous deeds. I still feel that they should have been sentenced to rot in jail for the terms of their natural lives.

The photo attached here includes the following information: Aitape, New Guinea. 24 October 1943. A photograph found on the body of a dead Japanese soldier showing NX143314 Sergeant (Sgt) Leonard G. Siffleet of "M" Special Unit, wearing a blindfold and with his arms tied, about to be beheaded with a sword by Yasuno Chikao. The execution was ordered by Vice Admiral Kamada, the commander of the Japanese Naval Forces at Aitape. Sgt Siffleet was captured with Private (Pte) Pattiwahl and Pte Reharin, Ambonese members of the Netherlands East Indies Forces, whilst engaged in reconnaissance behind the Japanese lines. Yasuno Chikao died before the end of the war.