ID :
26609
Sat, 10/25/2008 - 20:58
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http://m.oananews.org//node/26609
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MINISTER ASKS MEDIA NOT TO CALL AMROZI ET AL: HEROES
Surabaya, Oct 25 (ANTARA) - Communications and Information Minister Mohammad Nuh said the media should not call the three Bali I bombbing death row convicts, Amrozi, Imam Samudra and Muklas, "heroes".
"I dont't at all intend to interfere in the media's work , but please try to put the national interest above the freedom of the press in this case of terrorism," Nuh told newsmen here on Saturday.
The minister said if the media called Amrozi et al heroes, then the convicts would be encouraged to continue trying to get their execution postponed.
"Do not call people who have engaged in terrorist acts heroes, because Islam does not use violence to solve a problem," the minister said.
Nuh said Amrozi et al would face a firing squad early next month but the exact date had yet to be confirmed.
"According to the law, their families will be notified three days before the execution," said the former Surabaya Institute of Technology 10 November (ITS) rector.
Asked if the government's decision to execute Amrozi et al was the result of foreign intervention, Nuh said it was not true.
"There is no execution that is based on someone's interest or because of a particular foreign country's intervention. Executions are done purely in the national interest," the minister said.
"An execution is a domestic affair that concerns the national interest and therefore it can be carried out any time because if it is done because of foreign intervention, then our sovereignty as a nation would be questioned in the future," he added.
Meanwhile, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said in Jakarta on Friday that the execution of Bali-I bombers Amrozi et al was a matter of choosing the right time.
"Executions are always carried out through a long considerations and at the right time. It does not mean that the government hesitates to carry out the death penalty," the vice president said after performing Friday prayers.
Kalla made the statement when asked about the apparent procrastination in the execution of the Bali I bombing death-row convicts Amrozi et al.
"I dont't at all intend to interfere in the media's work , but please try to put the national interest above the freedom of the press in this case of terrorism," Nuh told newsmen here on Saturday.
The minister said if the media called Amrozi et al heroes, then the convicts would be encouraged to continue trying to get their execution postponed.
"Do not call people who have engaged in terrorist acts heroes, because Islam does not use violence to solve a problem," the minister said.
Nuh said Amrozi et al would face a firing squad early next month but the exact date had yet to be confirmed.
"According to the law, their families will be notified three days before the execution," said the former Surabaya Institute of Technology 10 November (ITS) rector.
Asked if the government's decision to execute Amrozi et al was the result of foreign intervention, Nuh said it was not true.
"There is no execution that is based on someone's interest or because of a particular foreign country's intervention. Executions are done purely in the national interest," the minister said.
"An execution is a domestic affair that concerns the national interest and therefore it can be carried out any time because if it is done because of foreign intervention, then our sovereignty as a nation would be questioned in the future," he added.
Meanwhile, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said in Jakarta on Friday that the execution of Bali-I bombers Amrozi et al was a matter of choosing the right time.
"Executions are always carried out through a long considerations and at the right time. It does not mean that the government hesitates to carry out the death penalty," the vice president said after performing Friday prayers.
Kalla made the statement when asked about the apparent procrastination in the execution of the Bali I bombing death-row convicts Amrozi et al.
