Transactions in Desire:

Australian Imaginings of Narco-terrorism in Indonesia

Abstract
The relationship between Australia (an outpost of Anglo-western culture) and Indonesia
(the world's most populous Muslim nation) has always been precarious. Much of the
Australian media and political 'mediasphere' have contributed to the destabiliation of
this relationship! most particularly as many media professionals reduce comple"
transcultural and transnational engagement to simple and essentialied cultural
dichotomies. This limited vision is evident in the popular media's treatment of two
significant politico-cultural issues# regional terrorism and the trade in illicit narcotics.
$ithin a conte"t of the global war on terror and Islamic attac%s in &ali! much of the
Australian popular media and public have been particularly agitated by the conviction
and death sentencing of a group of Australians (&ali ') who had attempted to smuggle
heroin out of Indonesia. This article e"amines the interrelationship between drug
traffic%ing and regional security in (outh )ast Asia! most specifically as the issues have
been conflated through transnational politics and the Australian media. The article
concludes that these issues have a common tra*ectory within the momentum of
globalisation and the cultural imaginaries created through the modern mediasphere.
Authors
+eff ,ewis! Associate -rofessor in media and cultural studies! (chool of Applied
.ommunication! /MIT 0niversity! Melbourne! Australia.
&elinda ,ewis! (enior ,ecturer! (chool of -ublic 1ealth and -reventive Medicine!
Monash 0niversity! Melbourne! Australia
1
2r +eff ,ewis is a professorial research fellow in the 3lobal .ities Institute! (chool of
Applied .ommunication! /MIT 0niversity. 1is recent boo%s include! Cultural Studies,
Second Edition ((age! 4556) and Language Wars: The Role of Media and Culture in
Global Terror and Political Violence (-luto! 4557). 1is new boo%! Balis Silent Crisis:
!esire, Traged" and Transition, written with &elinda ,ewis! was published in 455' by
/owman and ,ittlefield.
2r &elinda ,ewis is a specialist in international and community health. (he has published
various papers on crisis and recovery in Indonesia and (ri ,an%a. 1er new boo%! Balis
Silent Crisis: !esire, Traged" and Transition! written with +eff ,ewis! was published in
455' by /owman and ,ittlefield.
2
Transactions in Desire:
Media, Drugs-trafficking and Terrorism in South East Asia
&ut oh8 that deep romantic chasm which slanted
2own the green hill athwart a cedarn cover8
A savage place8 as holy and enchanted
As e'er beneath a waning moon was haunted
&y woman wailing for her demon-lover8
(amuel .oleridge! 9:ubla :han;
There's also an Australian couple there to see him< he doesn't really %now them.
The woman %eeps answering =uestions on (cott's behalf. (o I as% a =uestion only
/ush can answer . . . 2oes he get many people who *ust come to gaw%>... The
couple spots ?(chapelle@ .orby and! wide-eyed! they hurry off to have a chat with
:robo%an's star prisoner.
-aul Toohey! 9,ife after death;! The Bulletin#$e%s%ee&, +uly A5! 455B
C

No Sweat
An Australian *ournalist! sweaty and nervous! sits on the floor of the visiting room in
&ali;s :robo%an -rison. 1e fumbles around in his poc%ets loo%ing for a pencil sharpener.
'I thought you were a professional'! someone laughs. The *ournalists' eyes dar%en. 'I am8'
he sneers! and returns his gae imploringly toward the sub*ect of his interview! convicted
drug courier! (cott /ush. (cott is chain-smo%ing and pic%ing at some chocolate brought
by other visitors. (omeone produces a pen and the *ournalist is briefly restored. '(o tell
me!' he says! '$hy did you do it> )specially here! in this place. . . $hy did you do it>'
There are signs all over &ali's Dgurah /ai airport warning visitors that drug traffic%ing
attracts the death penalty. (cott and five others in the '&ali '' group have proven the case!
each receiving a capital sentence for attempting to smuggle heroin out of the country.
$hile three of the sentences have been reduced on appeal! (cott! Andrew .han and
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Myuran (u%umaran! remain condemned to *oin the lineage of Australian cause celebres
who have been e"ecuted for drugs traffic%ing in (outheast Asia E from &arlow and
.hambers to the most recent Dguyen Tuong Fan! who was hanged in (ingapore in 455G.
The arrest of the &ali ' was particularly disturbing as it was (cott /ush;s own parents
who contacted the Australian Hederal -olice hoping to prevent their son from being
caught up in some illegal activity. 1owever! under .ommissioner! Mic% :eelty! the AH-
tipped-off the Indonesian authorities! who arrested the nine Australians at the airport as
they attempted to leave &ali. /ather than arresting the group on their arrival in Australia!
:eelty and the AH- %nowingly e"posed the nine to Indonesia;s corrupt *udicial
processes
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and the death penalty I which they would not have faced if convicted in
Australia. (cott's story is all the more troubling! as his appeal against a life sentence
resulted in an upgrade to death by firing s=uad.
'(o why did you do it>' the *ournalist presses. (cott loo%s bac% at the *ournalist and
offers his well-drilled e"planation. 1is eyes are thic% with dread and he sighs# 'I wanted a
holiday'
A
.
&ut there is an e=ually well-drilled rhetoric used by Australian governments in their
dealings with Indonesia over the past several decades. Hrom the mid-C'G5s and the rise of
(uharto! Australian governments have pursued a comple" policy of appeasement! mutual
economic interest and carefully targeted security arrangements. $ithin this comple"
policy framewor%! Australia has fre=uently parenthesied an appalling record of human
rights abuses! territorial aggression and internal oppression for the sa%e of regional trade!
investment and security. The conservative 1oward government (C''G-455B)! in
particular! sought to mediate Australian public anger over the management of the &ali '
drugs case against broader issues of national interest! especially Indonesia's role in
managing regional terrorism (Hearly and &orgu! 4557< Auba! 455B). In a double
appeasement! the -rime Minister at the time of the &ali ' conviction e"pressed his
9regret; about the cases! while insisting that this was nevertheless a simple matter of
Indonesia;s sovereign right to determine its own internal modes of governance! law and
control of narcotics trading.
Fery clearly! conservative commentators recognied that drugs issues and the
respective legislative and cultural differences between the two countries threatened to
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further destabilie an already precarious bi-lateral relationship. Thus! commentators li%e
Tim ,indsay! for e"ample! argued that prosecutions against foreign drugs traffic%ers!
such as (chapelle .orby and the &ali '! were a legitimate response to Indonesia's
narcotics crisis and the significant threat it poses to community wellbeing and security
(see ,indsay and &utt! 4557). )ven more pointedly! Mic% :eelty! the 1ead of the
Australian Hederal -olice! continually confirmed the legitimacy of these laws! subsuming
the lives of the Australian drugs couriers to the greater good of national security and the
global war on terror. As a %ey player in the fight against international terrorism! the
Indonesian government was not to be antagonied for the sa%e of a few Australian
wrong-doers.
Indeed the former 1ead of Indonesia's Dational Darcotics &oard! Ma*or 3eneral I
Made Mang%u -asti%a! made the connection between the drugs trade and terrorism even
more e"plicit! declaring that Indonesia is 'currently faced with rising illicit drugs
production! traffic%ing and abuseJ I have deep concerns with the growing lin% between
illicit drugs traffic%ing! and terrorist and transnational crime activities' (2avies! 455B).
-asti%a! who led the police investigation into the first &ali bombings! urges that a specific
form of narco-terrorism is evolving in Indonesia! and that this comple" web of criminal
activities clearly implicates &alinese tourism and drug mules li%e (cott /ush and other
members of the &ali '.
This paper e"amines the ways in which the illicit drugs trade and terrorism are
connected in Indonesia. In particular! we e"amine the various points of intersection that
have been postulated and the ways in which the discourses of narco-terrorism are
implicated in various forms of transnational and global cultural politics. $e reflect on the
way these postulations are framed within a media conte"t that is clearly constituted
around the current 9war on terror; and a re-invigorated east-west divide.
Narcosis Neurosis
In 455K! ten years after their conviction for drugs traffic%ing in Indonesia! two Thai
nationals and an Indian were e"ecuted by firing s=uad. This and eight subse=uent
e"ecutions mar% the resumption of capital punishment which had been informally
suspended for three years. According to Amnesty International (455B)! a significant
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proportion of the '5 prisoners waiting on death row in Indonesia have been convicted of
drug-related offences. More recently! the ran%s of death row prisoners have been fortified
by a new class of 9political; felon! including &ali bombers Amroi! Imam (amudra and
Mu%las (Ali 3ufron)! who were e"ecuted by firing s=uad in 4556.
$e might reasonably assume that the relationship between drugs crime and Islamist
political violence is entirely antithetical. -urist Indonesian Islam formed around salafy
and wahhabi principles re*ects all forms of 'unholy' hedonism! especially the narcosis-
derived pleasures associated with illicit drugs. Moreover! and as the International .risis
3roup has noted! this form of purist Islam has a deep aversion to criminality of any %ind!
most particularly as it is associated with violence and the disruption of a government that
is legitimately 'Islamic' at least inasmuch as it represents and is supported by people of
the Muslim faith (I.3! 455Ka# B). Thus! while purist salafy re*ects all forms of secular
political engagement! including democratic processes! it also re*ects the forms of violent
sedition preached by radical 'ihadists.
A %ey doctrinal point separates salafi from salafi *ihadis in Indonesia! as elsewhere.
It is a central tenet of mainstream salafi thin%ing that it is not permissible to revolt
against a Muslim government! no matter how oppressive or un*ust . . . In Indonesia
most salafis are opposed to +emaah Islamiyah (+I) and the 2arul Islam movement
because they actively promote rebellion against the Indonesian state (I.3! 455K# B).
Thus while the &ali bombers and other Islamists interpret 'ihad (struggle for Islam) as
imprimatur for the armed imposition of an Islamic political order and Islamic law
(Shariah)! purist salafi regards 'ihad as far more defensive.
This polemic within Islamic political theology in Indonesia bears a direct relevance to
issues around drug use and traffic%ing in Indonesia (2evaney et al! 455G). Indeed! the
revision of Indonesia's drugs laws in C''B was as much a response to Islamic politicism
in Indonesia as to drugs-based health and social issues. ,i%e the ascent of the current! so-
called 'pornography laws'! much of the political force which e"panded and intensified the
drugs laws in C''B was driven through various forms of conservative Islam. In the
twilight of his political reign! -resident (uharto introduced the drug laws! at least in part!
as a means of fortifying support amongst Islamic groups in +ava. $ith a deepening
6
middle class and secularist opposition to the aging dictator! the laws represented a
significant gesture toward Shariah and the widening ambit and political strength of
religious politicism in Indonesia. 2uring these last years! (uharto had assumed the role of
pious statesman! consciously courting the support of Islamic political and community
leaders.
(ince the fall of (uharto! however! drugs have remained a significant public and
political issue in Indonesia! providing a point of convergence for conservative social and
religious organiations. $hile the figures are notoriously unreliable! it has been estimated
that Indonesia now has between C and G million drug addicts! and in*ection-related 1IF
and 1epatitis . cases have escalated dramatically over the past decade (,indsay and &utt!
4557< -admohoedo*o! 4557< 2evaney et al! 455G). $hat is clear! is that the social and
health impacts of the illicit drugs trade is embedded in Indonesia's moderniation and
integration with the global capitalist economy. Indeed! while Indonesia has had a long
history of drug useIbeetlenut! mari*uana and opium in particularIthe move to
in*ectable drugs! amphetamines and 'party' drugs li%e ecstasy mar%s a significant change
in the economy! cultural values and practices associated with narcotics in Indonesia.
These new narcotics practices and industry have evolved in parallel with Indonesia's
greater integration with western consumerism and the global economy of pleasure.
Indeed! *ust as desire and pleasure represent the centrifugal force of the legal
economy! they are also central to the illicit narcotics industry and to drug use itself. Hor
Indonesia in particular! this alignment is underpinned by the country's e"treme levels of
poverty and under-development. 2espite reasonable economic growth and an e"panding
middle-class! Indonesia has a 3D- per capita of less than K!5550(2 per annum and a
poverty rate of around CGL (.IA! 4556)! indicators that are li%ely to decline during the
course of the global financial crisis. The inefficiencies in the economy are further
e"acerbated by endemic public and private corruption which contributes to! and is a
symptom of! seriously low levels of international and domestic investment (.IA! 4556<
$orld &an%! 455B< -)/.! 455'). The -olitical and )conomic /is% .onsultancy has
identified a significant trending down in Indonesia's overall business ris%-benefit inde"
assessment since 455AMK< corruption continues to be the ma*or obstacle to international
7
and domestic business investment and growth (-)/.! 455'). The ma*ority of
Indonesians live in subsistence conditions! and despite some strong years of economic
growth! high levels of unemployment! underemployment! disease and social dislocation
persist. )ducation levels are critically low! contributing to the proliferation of Islamic
boarding schools ((esantren)! some of which have been established by 'ihadist
organiations li%e )e*aah +sla*i"ah, $ithin such social and economic conditions! large
numbers of young Indonesians cluster around the fringes of urban centres and cities!
living in e"traordinarily harsh conditions! surviving on begging! prostitution! drug-
traffic%ing and a broad raft of other criminal activities (-admohoedo*o! 4557).
,aine &erman (455A) argues that these hardships lead many Indonesians into drug-
ta%ing practices for relief and pleasure. &erman also suggests that the new party drugs are
themselves lin%ed to the consumerist lifestyles fre=uently propagated through media
motifs! contemporary music and tourism. (pecific groups and individuals within the
broad class of impoverished! unemployed and underemployed Indonesians are tempted
into the drugs trade as couriers and other lower-level wor%ers. In this sense! there is
clearly an overlap between the recruitment of young sub-class Indonesians into the
narcotics industry! and into the ran%s of militant 'ihadis* to act as footsoldiers and
suicide bombers ($right-Deville and Ficiany! 4557)
K
. In both cases! these young people
see% some form of pathway through! against or beyond the system that so blea%ly
oppresses them.
Narco-terrorism
At least in an economic sense! the relationship between drugs and Islamist terrorism is a
good deal more comple" than first presumed. Indeed! as we noted earlier! the former
1ead of the Indonesian 2rugs &oard! Ma*or 3eneral -asti%a! has identified considerable
and growing overlap between Islamist terrorism and organied crime. This 'narco-
terrorism'! identified as a worldwide phenomenon (2avids! 4554)! is constituted around a
confluence of interests and criminal infrastructure. The commercial and economic value
of illicit drugs has been recognised by the criminal underworld in Indonesia! including
the clandestine networ%s of regional and global 'ihadists, Nrganiations li%e al-Oa'ida
8
have engaged directly in narcotics trading! operating through various parts of Afghanistan
and into &urma and (outh )ast Asia (.hal%! 455K). )=ually important! clandestine
communication and trading networ%s used by organied crime have enabled terrorist
organiations to move arms and funds across the region! supporting militant activities in
Ambon! Aceh and &ali.
-eter .hal% (455K) has demonstrated how drugs and terrorist organiations have
e"ploited the clandestine system of financial trade and money laundering called the
ha%ala, Nperating throughout (outh )ast Asia! the ha%ala uses a comple" system of
trust and coded messages to facilitate the bul% transmission and trade of very large sums
of illegal finances in a very short period of time. .hal% locates the co-e"tensive
relationship between terrorism and the drugs trade in terms of a broader! post-.old $ar
security conte"tI
Nne specific threat that has assumed greater prominence on (outh )ast Asia's
broadened security agenda ... has been transnational organised crime. The increased
salience of this particular issue stems! in many ways! from the region's overriding
predilection with financial power and influence. .ombined with the e"istence of
severe and widespread disparities in economic wealth! situations have increasingly
arisen where people have been motivated more by the need to possess dollars and less
by considerations of the means used to ac=uire them. The net result has been the
gradual evolution of a parallel underground economy! which is currently being
powered by syndicates dealing in everything from humans to drugs! gems! timber and
weapons. (455K# 47G)
This is particularly disturbing! as it is clear that some members of the Indonesian
political eliteIincluding members of the military and law enforcement agenciesIare
directly involved in the drugs trade. This has been evidenced not only in Indonesia;s
Anti-.orruption .ommission hearings but in those drugs cases involving members of the
Indonesian elite against whom charges have been dropped or whose sentences have been
pitifully light (&erman 455A). This point was ac%nowledged in 455B by the Indonesian
Attorney 3eneral! 1endaman (upan*i! who conceded that four out of five prosecutors in
Indonesia were open to corruption and bribery (A&. Dews! 455B).
9
Indeed! the lin% between public officials and organied crime is a %ey element in the
honeycomb of Indonesia's political and economic order. The Indonesian military
continues to play a significant social! political and economic role in Indonesia
(:ingsbury! 455A< &arton! 455K)! and there is a general belief in the community that the
forces are corrupt! avaricious! incompetent and entirely untrustworthy (,ewis and ,ewis!
455')
7
. Indeed! suspicions about lin%s between factions of the TDI (Indonesian military)
and Islamic militant groups are also widespread (see &arton! 455K). As the International
.risis 3roup has reported! there are factions within the Indonesian parliament and the
military who have e"pressed considerable sympathy for radical Islamist organiations
and their ideologies. The former Fice -resident! 1amah 1a! was a notorious supporter
of Abu &a%ar &a'syir! the co-founder of +emaah Islamiyah. Moreover! there have been
persistent reports of strong support in the Indonesian military for organiations li%e
,as%ar +ihad! which was responsible for a range of violent attac%s in Ambon (I.3!
455Kb).
The confluence of narco-terrorism and public corruption in Indonesia remains
shadowy, of course. The density of corruption and the force of the clandestine economy
in Indonesia continues to restrict the capacity of the Anti-Corruption Commission to
identify and prosecute individuals who are engaged in organized crime, including drugs
trafficking and political violence.
Narcotic Terror and the Econom of Desire
There is yet a further overlap between illicit drugs and political violence in Indonesia!
most particularly through the interflows of globalisation and culture. In order to
understand this dimension of the overlap! we need to understand that contemporary
'terrorism' is largely a communicational act (,a=ueur! C'6B! 455A< (ilberstein! 4554<
,ewis! 4557) and is profoundly embedded in culture and a mediated global public sphere
or 'mediasphere'. Thus! as many definitions now clearly ac%nowledge! the ob*ective of
contemporary terrorism as a mode of political violence is to communicate a message to
governments! communities and individuals who are not the immediate victims of the
attac% ((ilberstein! 4554! ,ewis! 4557). The terror that is created by the attac% is designed
10
either to frighten and persuade enemies! or attract recruits and supporters to a given
political cause.
In this way! the current phase of global terrorism is constituted around comple" wars
of meaning and 'language'! as they are amplified through the modern global media.
1owever! while former &ritish -rime Minister! Margaret Thatcher! famously stated that
'publicity is the o"ygen of terrorism'! this 'o"ygen' is the life-source of all modern
politics< terrorism is a player in a political sphere that is constructed essentially around
'mediated' broadcasting and networ%ed information systems. (ignificantly! these
broadcast and networ%ed systems are created through broader economic systems and
ideologies which are! as we noted earlier! shaped through consumer culture. In this sense!
the 'clash of civiliations' (1untington! C''G)! which is being invigorated through Islamist
militancy and the antithetical 'war on terror'! is being shaped through an 'east-west' divide
that is itself being propagated through contemporary media politics. )ihadists! thereby!
promote their interests as traditional Islam! while the 'west' invo%es a powerful rhetoric of
moderniation. &oth discourses! however! operate within the conte"t of a contemporary
mediasphere with modes of cultural agonism that are essentially modern and forged
around consumer capitalism! desiring bodies and spiritual transcendence.
Thus! militant Islamist organiations li%e +emaah Islamiyah! ,as%ar +ihad! Islamic
2efenders! Islamic Pouth Movement and the more regionally constituted Abu (ayyaf
3roup may well invo%e deep history and the religious orthodo"ies of the Middle )astI
but the whole notion of 'tradition' is a construction of modern societies as they debate the
force and direction of their moderniation. The past! that is! becomes engaged in modern
debates over values and ethics. The deployment of modern communications systems!
weaponry and modes of economic e"change by these terrorist organiations also mar%s
them as hybrid cultural forms within the contemporary mediasphere.
+ean &audrillard (4554) has argued that modern terrorism is in fact the inevitable
reciprocate of globalisation< it is perhaps more accurate to regard Islamist 'ihadis* as a
part of the comple" cultural elements! contests and flows which are forming around
globalisation processes. .learly! consumer capitalism is predicated on infinite demand for
product (image! e"perience! service) which in turn is a contingency of the perpetual
stimulation of desire in desiring bodies. $here desire e"ceeds itself! there can be no
11
satisfaction! even though that satisfaction is inscribed in the mobilisation of that desire.
Indeed! the satisfaction of desire can only ever be partial in capitalist economics! as
complete satisfaction would endanger the very premise of the system itself. .apitalist
production realised a long time ago that both dissatisfaction and stimulation had to be
inscribed into the process of desiring! otherwise the whole system would collapse.
&audrillard himself recognises this parado"! arguing that product has to be transformed
into image to ensure the robustness of the system< but this 'simulacra'! which is bonded to
human libido! can never be complete or grounded as it must always lead to further
stimulation! desire and demand. This process of infinite desiring and dynamic
dissatisfaction might best be understood in terms of the notion of 'e"cess'! as the perpetual
momentum of dissatisfaction e"ceeds the momentum of pleasure.
)ihadis*! in this conte"t! is an e"pression of capitalist economics of pleasure as it is
formed around the cyclical and often chaotic dynamic of desire and dissatisfaction. ,i%e
other forms of politically motivated violence! 'ihadis* is created by the over-agitated
momentum of capitalism and moderniation. Its criminality and destructiveness are
forged through a constellation of historical elements which form essentially over the
failure of moderniation to fulfil its inscribed promise of satisfaction. At the moment
where the illusion and disappointment collide! violence becomes possible. The Islamist
propensity toward an e"treme political consciousness is less a statement of theological
conviction! and more an e"pression of deep despair turned to outrage.
The parallel with narcotics might surely be obvious. 2rugs are shaped within a
cultural imagining that promises infinite pleasures! but which constitutes this pleasure
around 9e"cess;. As in .oleridge;s 9Qanadu;! the vision of bodily or spiritual utopia is
founded on (and perpetually threatened by) a more pedestrian and =uotidian condition!
$here the dissatisfaction outpaces the pleasure! the temptation to narcosis must for many
individuals seem ultimately ineluctable. Through capitalism's propagated illusion
(ideology) of infinite pleasure and the cultural impetus for its own forms of e"cess! drugs
might seem a reasonable option for some individuals and groups! 1owever! *ust as the
'ihadists are see%ing grace through the manipulation of the capitalist system! drug users
and drug traffic%ers are e"pressing a sensibility of e"cess which generates its own highly
negative conse=uencesIsocial and personal. )e*aah +sla*i"ah targeted the :uta
12
nightclubs in the 4554 &ali attac%s largely as a symbolic gesture! a way of deriding and
denouncing the culture they believe is oppressing Muslims. The people who were %illed
in the attac%sIincluding drug-ta%ersIwere indulging their own forms of hedonism
which seemed antithetical to the attac%ers and indifferent to the victims of the system.
As much as they abhorred this indulgent hedonism! the &ali bombers were also
entranced by its power and aesthetic. In a peculiar double-heli" the bombers and the
clubbers were engaged in an invisible battle by which the violence of the attac% and the
indulgence of the pleasure were *u"taposed through a surge of human confusion. A war
of terror being waged elsewhere! presented itself as a fundamental contest of meanings
over the territory of a nightclub. (piritual grace and bodily ecstasy were entwined
through the heli" of bodies that left bomber and victim in an indistinguishable rubble.
$hile it may be simpler to see these bodies as divisible antagonists within a global
war of terror! the conceptual conflation of 9narco-terrorism; suggests something more
comple". $e have already suggested that the force of privation and a broader sense of
social disillusion is a common driver for drug traffic%ers and militant 'ihadists in
Indonesia. And we are suggesting here that the culture of illicit narcotics and that of
'ihadis* may be wrought through a common impetus to e"cess and a parado"ical
relationship with the desire-dissatisfaction compound that mobilises capitalist
consumerism and the dynamic of pleasure. In this conte"t! (cott /ush's e"planation for
his engagement with drug smugglingIthat he wanted a 'holiday'I becomes a metaphor
for this same dynamic and for the broader culture in which 'the holiday' is imagined.
The sweaty *ournalist in :robo%an -rison entirely misses the point. 1is own industry
Iand indeed his own appalling narrative of the 'dead man tal%ing'I is complicit with
the crime of cultural e"cess. As with other popular media articles on the fate of the &ali
'! this piece provides little genuinely considered analysis of the causes of the escalation
in drugs consumption and trade in (outheast Asia! tending instead to trivialie the
conditions of the -rison! *udicial corruption and the comple"ities of the global drugs
culture. Dor is there an account of how the issue of national security might be
underpinning the impotent responses of the Australian government. The perpetual
invocation of 9national interest; and 9bi-lateral relationship; in order to appease Indonesia
is symptomatic of capitalist pragmatism and the force of global economic integration.
13
The Australian government prefers to present its bi-lateral relationship in terms of
empathy! trade! security and stability! while abandoning its miscreant citiens to a
fundamentally flawed narcotics law and corrupt *udicial system. Australians must
recognise! the government reminds us! that they are obliged to obey the laws of nations
they choose to visit.
Pet the harm that is caused by drug abuse and traffic%ing is very similar in Indonesia
as it is in AustraliaIand as we have argued! the causes are also very similar. $hile there
are increasing debates in the more sensible realms of Indonesian narcotics management
(see &adan Dar%oti%a Dasional! 4557< -admohoedo*o! 4557< 2evaney et al! 4557)! there
continues to be a tepid policy response to this significant source of social harm. 2rugs!
li%e crime more generally! represent a convenient political rallying point for the assertion
of state authority. -resident Pudhoyono has made it clear that drug traffic%ers are
something less than human and not deserving of the same sympathy or clemency that
might be afforded other wrong-doers in Indonesia. .ommunity vigilantes and
conservative lobby groups (including Islamists) use the drugs issue as a focus for
community action and political e"pression. As the Indonesian Darcotics &oard itself has
recognised! these groups tend to treat drug traffic%ers and users as a fundamental social
enemy. The Australian government has failed to substantially engage with Indonesia
around drugs issues! retreating once more into the national sovereignty! security and law-
enforcement discourse rather than engaging in dialogue over the management of the
health and social problems associated with drugs.
The *ournalist in :robo%an -rison scoffs at this notion. Devertheless! the media he
represents are part of the economy of desire which lies at the heart of these issues.
1aving surrendered much of its role as 'fourth estate' and agent of public interest! the
networ%ed commercial media almost entirely engages its audiences and readers through
various form of entertainment. To this end! the contemporary! commercial media is
largely constituted around images and narratives which stimulate emotional! as much as
cognitive responses. As we noted above! these images and narratives are formed as
9simulacra; which is designed to provo%e desire. Thus! the popular media's account of
(cott /ush and other cause celebres of the Indonesian prison system! is typically
voyeuristic! constituted around the emotional condition of the convicted drug smuggler
14
and social responses to his crime. 0nder the guise of an honourable commitment to the
public;s 'right to %now' the article presents a ghoulish image of the condemned man!
creating a dramatic rendering of cultural depravity (Indonesia) and personal disgrace
((cott).
&ut the article offers no e"planations. It is an account of the fallen and of a form of
social calumny that reaches as far as the tourists who now come to the -rison to visit
(cott and other well-%nown inmates li%e (chapelle .orby. &ut our *ournalist
demonstrates little understanding of these people and their motives. They bring their gifts
and encouragement! a simple gesture of community care. And despite the ridiculous
fantasy created by numerous Australian *ournalists who have now gained access inside
the prison (see Hitpatric%! 455')! :robo%an is a hideous place! seething with menace and
misery. As with all prisons! there is constant harassment! theft and the threat of violence
by officials and other inmates. The prison environment is! of course! dense with illicit
drugs! se"ual brutality and a clandestine economy supported by gang leaders and prison
wardens. 1ere! the state imposes its own authority through a vicious and cruel process of
violence and de-humaniation. &ut the *ournalist e"periences none of this. 1e feels
superior to the tourists because he is a professional. 1e flies in and flies out again with
his illegally obtained interview. 1e has his holiday! but he gives bac% absolutely
nothing
G
.
!onclusion
In the affluent =uarters of the great global economy! everyone is promised a holiday. The
common root of drugs traffic%ing and terrorism in Indonesia resides somewhere outside
these ones of affluence though within the same ideology and accretion of desire and
disappointment. The &ali bombers and the &ali 9A; have been conditioned by the same
encounters with legitimate and illegitimate social deviance. They are criminals! rather
than revolutionaries< they have sought to usurp the orderly pro*ect of consumer
capitalism! and both have sought some %ind of liberation through a clandestine attac% on
the imposed morality of Indonesian society. The emergence of narco-terrorism in
Indonesia e"presses! above all other things! the momentum of this convergence of two
clandestine global movements.
15
The state's imposition of the death penalty! however! is a capitulation to its own
desperate failings. In an act of simple vengeance! the Indonesian state! supported by a
complicit Australian government! obfuscates its own culpability through its decree of
sanctioned murder. (tate authorised %illings! that is! seem perversely to validate the broad
range of socialied horrorsIsocial hierarchy! ine=uity! poverty! desperationIwhich are
themselves the base conditions for Islamic violence and the narcotics trade. And while
drugs policy in Indonesia is moving toward a greater acceptance of harm-reduction
approaches to the management of drugs! the government remains fi"ed in an enforcement
model which merely fortifies the power and authority of the state over the vestiges of its
fallen. And indeed! the confluence of political and narcotics crime must be understood as
a part of the global momentum< it is a shared problem re=uiring a shared response.
/etreat into flaccid pronouncements of national sovereignty is both biarre and
delin=uent. The Australian and Indonesian governments need to wor% together to resolve
these problems! many of which are directly embedded in Indonesia's e"treme and entirely
unacceptable levels of poverty! a poverty which! in turn! is directly related to corruption
and an endemic incompetence in public institutions. If Australia is to provide any real
support! then it must be related directly to Indonesia's transition to civil society.
"eferences
A&. Dews (455B) 9Indonesian A-3 signals crac%down on corrupt prosecutors; May CK!
http#MMwww.abc.net.auMnewsMstoriesM455BM57MCKMC'44B7C.htm Accessed Dovember A5 455B.
Amnesty International (455K) 'Indonesia# a briefing on the death penalty'
www.amnesty.orgMlibertyMinde"Mangasa4C5K455K Accessed 2ecember C 455B.
Auba! R. (455B) Political +sla* and Violence in +ndonesia, /outledge! ,ondon.
&adan Dar%oti%a Dasional ?Dational Darcotics &oard@(4557) Materi -d.o&osi
Pencegahan $ar&oba, /-d.ocac" Material for !rugs Treat*ent0 3overnment of the
/epublic of Indonesia! +a%arta.
&arton! 3. (455K) +ndonesias Struggles: +emaah Islamiyah and Radical +sla*is*!
0D($ -ress! (ydney.
16
&audrillard! +. (4554) The S(irit of Terroris* and Re1uie* for the T%in To%ers, trans. ..
Turner! Ferso! ,ondon.
&erman! ,. (455A) 'Hrom )ung&ies to +ihad' +nside +ndonesia, +uly-(eptember.
.hal%! -. (455K) 'The politics of the (outh-east Asian heroin trade' in 2. M. +ones! ed.!
Globalisation and the $e% Terror: The -sia Pacific !i*ension, )dward )lgar!
.heltenham ! 0:.
.IA (4556) The World 2actboo&, www.cia.govMlibertyMpublicationsMthe-world-factboo%Minde".html .
Accessed 2ecember C 455B.
2avids! 2. +. (4554) $arco3terroris*: - 4nified Strateg" to 2ight a Gro%ing Terrorist
Menace, Transnational -ublications! Dew Por%.
2avies! ). (455B) 'Indonesian drugs woes fuel 1IF! terrorism worries'! Reuters +anuary
4A. www.reuters.comMarticleMlatest.risisMid0(+A:4G47K' Accessed 2ecember C 455B.
2evaney! M.! /eid! 3. and &aldwin! (. (455G) Situational anal"sis of +llicit !rugs +ssues
and Res(onses in the -sia3Pacific Region, &urnet Institute for 1arm /eduction!
Melbourne! Aust.
Hearly! 3. and &orgu! A. (4557) Local )ihad: radical +sla* and terroris* in +ndonesia!
Australian (trategic -olicy Institute! &arton! A.T,
Hitpatric%! (. (455') '&ac% to &ali'! The -ustralian Maga5ine, Hebruary B-6,
1untington! (. (C''G) The Clash of Ci.ili5ations and the Re3*a&ing of the World 6rder,
(imon and (chuster! Dew Por%.
International .risis 3roup (455Ka) '$hy (alafism and terrorism mostly don't mi"'!
+ndonesia Bac&grounder, (eptember C7.
International .risis 3roup (455Kb) 'Fiolence )rupts again in Ambon;! +ndonesia
Bac&grounder, May CB.
:ingsbury! 2. (455A) Po%er, Politics and the +ndonesian Militar", /outledge! ,ondon.
:-: ?.orruption )radication .ommission@ (455B) -nnual Re(ort 7889! /epublic of
Indonesia.
,a=ueur! $. (C'6B) The -ge of Terroris*, 3eorge $eidensfeld and Dicolson! ,ondon.
,a=ueur! $. (455A). $o End to War: Terroris* in the T%ent" 2irst Centur", .ontinuum!
Dew Por%.
17
,ewis! +. (4557) Language Wars: The Role of Media and Culture in Global Terror and
Political Violence, -luto &oo%s! ,ondon.
,ewis! +. and ,ewis! &. (455') Balis Silent Crisis: !esire, Traged" and Transition,
/owman and ,ittlefield! ,anham! M2.
,indsay! T. and &utt! (. (4557) 9+ustice system not getting a fair hearing in high-profile
drugs cases;! S"dne" Morning :erald, May A. Accessed Dovember A5 455B.
-)/. (455') -sian Ris& Pros(ects 788;, www.asiaris%s.comM. Accessed Hebruary 4K
455'.
-admohoedo*o! -. (4557) $ational Sur.e" of +llicit !rug 4se and Traffic&ing a*ong
:ouseholds in +ndonesia 788<a, Dational Darcotics &oard of Indonesia! +a%arta.
(ilberstein! (. (4554) War of Words: Language, Politics and ;#==! /outledge! ,ondon.
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18
1
Scott Rush is an Australian citizen who was convicted in 2006 and later sentenced to death for attempting to smuggle
heroin out of Bali. Along with eight other Australians, Rush and the group known as the Bali 9 were arrested in July 2005;
several of the group, including Rush, were detained at Balis Ngurah Rai airport with heroin strapped to their bodies. The
Bali 9 case, and the severity of the sentences, attracted considerable public attention in Australia. These and similar drug-
related convictions have severely strained the relationship between Australia and Indonesia, particularly within the context
of a global war on terror and Australian government travel warnings against visiting Indonesia.
2
It is not the intention of the authors to deny the significant improvements in Indonesia's civil and democratic processes
since the fall of Suharto in 1998. The authors acknowledge, in particular, the attempts by President Wahid and Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono to reform the judicial processes and instigate anti-corruption measures. However, reports from the
World Bank (2008) and Transparency International (2008) continually place Indonesia among the lowest ranked performers
across the globe in terms of international corruption. In a 2009 report, the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy placed
Indonesia as the worst performer in Asia on its corruption survey, noting in particular that the judiciary and law
enforcement agencies continue to constrain social and economic development in the country (PERC, 2009). In its own 2007
Report, the Indonesian Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) conceded that the courts, the police and the Attorney
General's Office were broadly regarded as incapable of controlling corruption in Indonesia (KPK, 2007).
3
The specific article to which we refer is titled 'Life after death' (Toohey, 2007). We will make reference to this article and
the journalist's interview practice (which we attended in Krobokan Prison) throughout the paper. While we have focused
specifically on this article, we argue that it represents the vast majority of commercial media reporting and journalistic
practices relating to the Bali 9 case. As academic researchers, we have worked in Krobokan Prison numerous times over
several years.
4
Of course, we are not suggesting that there is either one type of jihadist or drug trafficker. There are various levels within
both organizational fields, and individuals who bear distinctive dispositions and motivations. We are arguing, however, that
the assumptions that create exclusive borders between these groups are not as absolute as frequently claimed. In this case,
the area of overlap relates to each group's relationship with mainstream culture and modes of social power.
5
Despite being disliked and distrusted by a majority of Indonesians, the military (and police) retains its social privilege
through its control of armed power and strong political connections. The military elite, in particular, have very close ties to
government and are active players in politics and business. The rank and file military pay for their commissions, and
continually seek to supplement their low wages with various forms of graft. While anti-corruption campaigners and
numerous public officials (including members of the military and police) acknowledge that this is a significant problem, the
power of the military continues to obstruct civil reform (Kingsbury, 2003; Lewis and Lewis, 2009).
6
Since the Bali bombings and high-profile drugs cases, Krobokan Prison has become a central icon in Australia-Indonesian
relations. Indonesian politicians and public officials have tried in various ways to manage Australian media and public
interest in the Prison, modulating access and exclusion through various policies. For several years, journalists and tourists
were excluded from the Prison; currently, however, there is a policy of openness and free admission. At the time of the
Toohey interview, journalists were not permitted to enter the Prison although, for a fee, other Australians were granted
access.