Release Date: 15 August 2021

Episode 4: Aku Bukan Mesin

In this episode, we are exploring violent religious extremism, through “Aku Bukan Mesin” (I am not a machine), one of the songs that the band recorded in response to terrorist bombings that shook Bali and Jakarta in the early 2000, and a turbulent political transition in Indonesia which saw conflict flaring up in various parts of the country. The conflicts were dividing communities across religious lines and resulted in large scale destruction, violence, displacement, and the deaths of thousands of people. Joining us in this episode is a special guest, Sidney Jones – a widely renowned expert on religious extremism and conflict in Indonesia.

For the transcript of this episode click here.

Listen to Aku Bukan Mesin on Spotify here.

This episode features:

Watch the Aku Bukan Mesin Video (directed by Ian White)

Links:

Institute of Policy Analysis and Conflict

International Crisis Group

Amnesty International

Human Rights Watch

Fall of Suharto by Asian Century S1 Episode 2

Rumah Beta Foundation

Sources to data referenced in the episode:

The 12 October 2002 Bali Bombing Plot

Suicide in paradise: aftermath of the Bali bombings

Global Tourism Database: Indonesia

Bali Beyond the Tragedy: Impact and Challenges for Tourism-led Development in Indonesia

President Suharto Biography

Waiting for peace in Poso

Indonesia’s Maluku Crisis: The Issues

Human Rights Watch Report “Indonesia The Violence in Ambon”

Human Rights Watch Report “Indonesia Breakdown: Four Years of Communal Violence in Central Sulawesi”

Beloved musician, activist Glenn Fredly mourned by many

Indonesia bombing: Worshippers wounded in Makassar church attack

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