President Jokowi wearing a Napalm Death t-shirt
It’s no secret that President Joko Widodo is a metalhead and that one of his favorite bands is UK-based Napalm Death (as evidenced above). But Napalm Death isn’t a big fan of the fact that the death penalty is still practiced in Indonesia, and that it doesn’t look like President Jokowi will put a stop to it anytime soon.
Napalm Death frontman Mark “Barney” Greenway wrote an open letter to Jokowi asking him to grant clemency to two Australian citizens, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who are currently on death row for drugs smuggling:
Dear Mr Widodo,
I am appealing directly to you to please spare the lives of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, the two Australian citizens who are currently awaiting the death sentence in Indonesia for heroin smuggling. As a follower of our band Napalm Death, you would appreciate that our lyrics and ethos challenge the unbroken cycle of violence in the world, whether it comes from a state or as an individual. If these things are not challenged and ultimately changed, I believe we will never truly move forward as humankind.
I understand that you are standing as a leader determined to change things for the better, and so I believe granting clemency would be a major step forward in this pursuit of betterment. I appreciate that heroin can be damaging on many levels, but I believe that this is a much deeper issue that cannot be changed or altered by simply taking away the lives of people.
Again, I respectfully ask that you make a real difference and overturn these sentences.
In hope and peace
Mark ‘Barney’ Greenway (Napalm Death)
The letter, which was posted on the band’s Facebook page, also linked to the Mercy Campaign, a petition-based campaign to help save Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran from the death penalty.
It would be absolutely amazing (and miraculous) if a plea from President Jokowi’s favorite band is what change his mind and led him to granting clemency to the two Australians.
On Thursday, President Jokowi denied Andrew Chan’s plea for clemency. He had also previously denied Myuran Sukumaran’s plea for clemency.
Chan and Syukumaran are two out of nine Australians (now famously known as the Bali Nine) arrested in Bali on April 17, 2005 for trying to smuggle AUD 4 million worth of heroin from Indonesia to Australia. Chan and Syukumaran are the only two from the Bali Nine to be sentenced to death by a firing squad.
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